The United States military carried out retaliatory strikes on Friday against dozens of ISIS positions in Syria following the killings of three Americans, reports Baltimore Chronicle.
According to the statement from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, more than 70 ISIS targets were struck using a combination of fighter jets, Apache attack helicopters, and HIMARS rocket artillery, deploying around 100 munitions. The operation, named “Operation Hawkeye Strike,” aimed to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the December 13 attack on U.S. forces in Palmyra, Syria.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that Jordanian fighter aircraft participated in the strikes alongside American forces. Hegseth emphasized that the attacks were not the start of a new war, but “a declaration of vengeance,” asserting that the United States, under President Trump, will continue to defend its personnel without hesitation.
The three Americans killed in Palmyra included two Iowa National Guardsmen and a U.S. civilian interpreter, with three other guardsmen injured. The assailant, identified as a lone ISIS gunman, was later neutralized by U.S. forces. President Trump described the strikes as “very serious retaliation” against the terrorists responsible, targeting ISIS strongholds with the support of Syria’s new government.
Reports from Syrian monitoring groups, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed that explosions were heard across several regions during the operation. The strikes involved F-15 and A-10 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS rocket artillery, hitting weapons storage areas and infrastructure in central Syria.
U.S. officials described the attacks as delivering a significant blow to ISIS remnant forces in Syria, targeting both personnel and logistical networks. Intelligence estimates suggest that between 1,500 and 3,000 ISIS militants remain active in Syria and Iraq.
Ahead of Friday’s strikes, U.S. and partner forces conducted ten operations across Iraq and Syria, capturing or killing 23 ISIS militants and gathering intelligence that informed targeting decisions for subsequent operations. Currently, around 1,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Syria, mostly in the east, continuing their mission to prevent a resurgence of ISIS, which was militarily defeated in 2019.
Approximately 100–150 U.S. troops are based at the At Tanq Garrison near the Syrian-Jordanian border, where the Iowa National Guardsmen were stationed. The base was visited by Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, who recognized the troops’ actions under fire and briefed them on the upcoming strikes.
Sgt. William “Nate” Howard, Sgt. Edgar Torres Tovar, and U.S. civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat were killed in an ambush while conducting a key leader engagement, marking the first U.S. combat deaths in Syria since 2019. Since July, U.S. and partner forces have conducted 80 operations against ISIS, detaining 119 militants and eliminating 14, with November alone seeing the destruction of 15 ISIS weapons caches in southern Syria.
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