Washington (TDI): The United States carried out extensive air and ground strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria on Friday, marking a major retaliatory operation following a deadly attack on American personnel, US officials confirmed.
According to the Pentagon, the operation targeted dozens of ISIS-linked sites across central Syria and was launched in response to an attack last weekend that killed US troops. American forces have been conducting regular counterterrorism operations in Syria in recent months, often in coordination with Syrian security units, but officials described Friday’s strikes as significantly larger in scale.
US President Donald Trump had earlier vowed a strong response after two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an assault on a joint US-Syrian convoy near the ancient city of Palmyra. Three other US soldiers were wounded in the attack, which US officials believe was carried out by an ISIS sympathizer.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the retaliatory campaign, named Operation Hawkeye Strike, hit ISIS fighters, weapons depots, and logistical infrastructure. “This is not the start of a war, but a message of retribution,” Hegseth said. “We hunted our enemies, and we will continue to do so.”
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Trump said in a social media post that the Syrian government had expressed full support for the strikes, adding that Washington was delivering “very serious retaliation” against the militant group.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the country remained firmly committed to eliminating Islamic State and preventing the group from establishing safe havens anywhere on Syrian territory.
The Syrian Interior Ministry identified the attacker involved in last weekend’s assault as a member of the country’s security forces who was suspected of harbouring extremist sympathies. The attacker was shot dead at the scene.
Roughly 1,000 US troops are currently stationed in Syria as part of the ongoing international effort to counter ISIS. Syria’s political landscape has shifted significantly since former president Bashar al-Assad was removed from power last year following a 13-year civil war. The current government, led by former rebel factions, includes figures who once belonged to Syria’s Al Qaeda-linked groups but later broke away and fought Islamic State.
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Last month, Damascus deepened cooperation with the US-led coalition against ISIS after President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House, signalling a rare moment of diplomatic alignment between the two countries.
