US forces strike ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack that killed three Americans, with Trump vowing “serious retaliation”.
WASHINGTON: US forces launched a major military operation against the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria on Friday.
President Donald Trump described the strikes as “very serious retaliation” for a December 13 attack in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
The attack killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter and wounded three service members.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the operation, named HAWKEYE STRIKE, on social media platform X.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth wrote.
He added that US forces had hunted and killed “lots of” their enemies and would continue to do so.
Trump vowed on Truth Social that those who attack Americans “WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE.”
US Central Command confirmed a large-scale strike against ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.
A security source in Syria said air strikes targeted ISIS positions in the Homs desert and rural Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.
Syria’s foreign ministry stated its commitment to fighting ISIS and denying it safe havens.
The Americans killed were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat.
US officials attended a ceremony on Wednesday marking the return of the remains to the United States.
The Palmyra attack was the first such incident since the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year.
A Syrian interior ministry spokesman said the attacker was a security forces member due to be fired for extremist ideas.
The US personnel were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international anti-ISIS coalition.
ISIS was largely defeated but maintains a presence, particularly in Syria’s vast desert regions.
Trump has historically been skeptical of the US presence in Syria but troops remain deployed.
The Pentagon announced plans in April to halve US personnel in Syria in the coming months.
US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in June that Washington would eventually reduce its bases to one.
US forces are currently deployed in northeast Syria and at the Al-Tanf garrison near the Jordanian border. – AFP
