US hits IS in Syria with large retaliatory strikes
The U.S. military has launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria in retaliation for the attack on American personnel.
The US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes and ground operations targeting Islamic State suspects in Syria in recent months, often with the participation of Syrian security forces.
President Donald Trump had vowed retaliation following a suspected ISIS attack in Syria last weekend that killed US personnel.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attacks targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” and that the operation was “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE”.
“This is not the beginning of a war, it is a declaration of revenge,” Hegseth said.
“Today we hunted and killed our enemies. Many of them. And we will continue.”
Trump said on social media that the Syrian government fully supports the attacks and that the United States is taking “very serious retaliation.”
In a speech in North Carolina on Friday night, Trump called it a “major” blow against ISIS members, whom the United States blames for the Dec. 13 attack on coalition forces.
“We hit ISIS thugs in Syria. … It was very successful,” Trump said at a rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
US Central Command said Friday strikes hit more than 70 targets in central Syria, adding that “Jordanian warplanes are supporting the operation.”
A US official said the attacks were carried out by US F-15 and A-10 jets, as well as Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems.
Syria reiterated its firm determination to combat the Islamic State and ensure “the absence of safe havens on Syrian territory,” according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian translator were shot and killed by an attacker targeting a convoy of American and Syrian forces in the central Syrian town of Palmyra on Saturday, according to the U.S. military.
It was stated that 3 US soldiers were injured in the attack.
Approximately 1,000 US soldiers remain in Syria.
The Syrian interior ministry said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with the Islamic State.
The Syrian government is led by former rebels who ousted leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, and includes members of Syria’s former Al Qaeda branch, which has split from the group and clashed with the Islamic State.
Syria is cooperating with a US-led coalition against the Islamic State and reached an agreement during President Ahmed al-Shara’s visit to the White House in November.
