Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday the launch of a military operation in Syria aimed at “eliminating ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” after the deaths of three American citizens in an ambush nearly a week ago.
A US official described the operation as a “large-scale” strike targeting multiple sites and concentrated areas in central Syria harboring Islamic State group infrastructure and weapons. Another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, indicated that more strikes were expected.
The attack was carried out using F-15 Eagle fighters, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters, the officials said. Jordanian F-16 fighter jets and HIMARS rocket launchers were also used, an official said.
“This is not the start of a war, this is a declaration of revenge. The United States of America, under the leadership of President Trump, will never hesitate or falter in defending its people,” Hegseth said on social media.
President Donald Trump had promised “very severe retaliation” after last Saturday’s shooting in the Syrian desert, which cost the lives of two members of the Iowa National Guard and an American civilian interpreter. He blamed the Islamic State for their deaths. The soldiers were among hundreds of U.S. troops deployed to eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State.
The attack strained relations that have improved between the United States and Syria since the ouster of autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
Donald Trump stressed that Syria was fighting alongside American troops and indicated that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Charaa was “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack”, which came as the American military strengthens its cooperation with Syrian security forces.
Syrian state television reported that strikes hit targets in rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, as well as the Jabal al-Amour area near Palmyra. She said they targeted “weapons storage sites and headquarters used by IS as launching bases for its operations in the region.”
White House officials stressed that Mr. Trump had made it clear that retaliation was imminent.
“President Trump told the world that the United States would respond to the killing of our heroes by ISIS in Syria, and he is keeping his word,” said Anna Kelly, deputy White House spokesperson, in a statement.
This week, Mr. Trump met privately with the families of Americans killed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, before joining senior military officials and other dignitaries on the tarmac for the ceremonial handover ceremony, a discreet and quiet ritual honoring fallen American service members.
The National Guardsmen killed in Syria on Saturday were Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Also killed was Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Macomb, Michigan, an American civilian working as an interpreter.
The shooting nearly a week ago near the historic city of Palmyra also injured three other U.S. soldiers and members of the Syrian security forces. The attacker was shot dead. The latter had joined the Syrian internal security forces as a basic security officer two months earlier and had recently been transferred due to suspicions of affiliation with the Islamic State, said Nour al-Din al-Baba, an interior ministry spokesperson.
The man burst into a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials who were having lunch together and opened fire after a confrontation with Syrian guards.
Asked for more information, the Pentagon referred the Associated Press to Pete Hegseth’s social media post.
