US Says ‘Vengeance, Not War’ as It Hits ISIS Strongholds in Syria
Donald Trump had promised a response following last weekend’s attack on US troops in Syria, allegedly carried out by an Islamic State suspect.
The US military launched airstrikes on dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for attacks on American personnel, US officials said.
President Donald Trump vowed revenge after a suspected Islamic State member attacked American personnel in Syria last weekend.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” and said the operation was “Operation Hawkeye Strike.”
“This is not the start of a war – it is a declaration of revenge,” Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted down and killed our enemies. Many. And we will continue,” he added.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks targeted dozens of Islamic State positions in central Syria.
According to the U.S. military, an attacker killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the city of Palmyra in central Syria on Saturday. The attacker targeted a convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces before being shot and killed. Three other U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack.
In recent months, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted airstrikes and ground operations targeting suspected Islamic State members in Syria, often in conjunction with Syrian security forces.
Approximately one thousand US troops continue their presence in Syria.
The Syrian Interior Ministry identified the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces, suspected of having sympathies with the Islamic State.
The Syrian government is now in the hands of former rebels who overthrew leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war. This includes members of Syria’s former al-Qaeda branch, who had broken away from the group and clashed with the Islamic State.
Syria is cooperating with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, and an agreement to this effect was reached last month when President Ahmed al-Shara visited the White House.
He said on social media, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States of America will never hesitate or back down from defending its people.” Two members of the Iowa National Guard and a U.S. civilian interpreter were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert on December 13. The Trump administration blamed the Islamic State group for the attack.
In a social media post, Trump said Friday’s attacks targeted ISIS “strongholds.” Trump also issued a stern warning, cautioning the group against attacking Americans again.
“All terrorists who are so evil as to attack Americans are hereby warned—if you attack or threaten America in any way, you will pay a price greater than you have ever paid before,” the president said.
During a speech Friday evening, the president praised the operation as a “major strike” that killed “ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup.”
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Friday’s attack was carried out using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Trump had also emphasized that Syria was fighting alongside US forces. In a post on X, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the country is “committed to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe haven in Syrian territory and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat.”
The post also stated that last week’s attack “underscores the urgent need to strengthen international cooperation in combating all forms of terrorism.”
Syrian state television reported that the US strikes targeted rural areas in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, as well as the Jabal al-Amour area near the historic city of Palmyra.
It said they targeted “weapons depots and headquarters that ISIS used as launching points for its operations in the area.” A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said more strikes should be expected.
