The United States military carried out large-scale retaliatory strikes against dozens of Islamic State (ISIS) targets across central Syria on Friday, following a deadly attack that killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter, according to U.S. officials.
The operation, officially named Operation Hawkeye Strike, targeted ISIS fighters, weapons depots, and operational infrastructure. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were a direct response to the attack on American personnel and described the operation as a decisive act of retaliation.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said, adding that U.S. forces had successfully hunted and eliminated multiple ISIS elements and would continue counterterrorism operations.
A U.S. official confirmed that more than 70 ISIS-linked targets were struck using a combination of F-15 and A-10 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters, and HIMARS rocket systems. The strikes were conducted as part of ongoing U.S.-led coalition efforts against ISIS, which have included air and ground operations in recent months, often coordinated with Syrian security forces.
President Donald Trump reiterated his earlier pledge to respond forcefully to the attack, stating that the Syrian government fully supported the U.S. military action. In a social media post, Trump said Washington was delivering “very serious retaliation” against ISIS positions.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating ISIS and preventing the group from establishing safe havens within Syrian territory. In an official statement, the ministry said Damascus remains determined to intensify military operations against ISIS and welcomed continued cooperation with international coalition partners.
The strikes followed a Saturday attack in Palmyra, where an assailant targeted a joint convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces, killing two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter and wounding three others. The attacker was later killed, and Syrian authorities described him as a member of local security forces suspected of sympathizing with ISIS.
Approximately 1,000 U.S. troops remain deployed in Syria as part of counter-ISIS operations. Syria’s current government, formed after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad last year, has continued cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition despite the country’s complex post-war security landscape.
