'A declaration of vengeance': US strikes ISIS targets in Syria after 3 Americans were killed
The United States launched military strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in response to the killing of three Americans during a counterterrorism operation. The offensive aimed to destroy IS (also known as ISIS) infrastructure believed to be linked to the Dec. 13 attack.
The military campaign, named Operation Hawkeye Strike, involved coordinated air and artillery strikes against locations identified as IS strongholds, NBC News reported. Officials said the targets included weapons sites, command centers and infrastructure used by militants attempting to regroup in the region.
The U.S. carried out the mission using A-10s, F-16s, Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems. Jordanian F-16 fighter jets also supported the strikes.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. was “inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible” and said Syria was “a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted on X that the U.S. launched the operation to “eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces.” He added, “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance.”
The attack that prompted the strikes occurred during a joint engagement in Palmyra, where U.S. forces were meeting local partners. A gunman opened fire at the site, killing two U.S. Army soldiers and one civilian American interpreter.
The shooter, a Syrian security officer who had joined the internal forces two months earlier, was killed at the scene. He had recently been reassigned after authorities raised suspicions of a possible connection to IS, a terror organization that controlled regions of Iraq and Syria during the mid-2010s.
The Department of War identified the two soldiers killed as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both were members of the Iowa National Guard.
The civilian who was killed was Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 34, a U.S. citizen and contract interpreter from Macomb, Michigan. He had worked with U.S. forces in the region for over a year, according to a Pentagon official.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said three other U.S. personnel were wounded in the attack. He stated that the soldiers were “conducting a key leader engagement” as part of the broader mission to disrupt IS activity in eastern Syria, as reported by NBC.
Parnell said Syrian security personnel were also injured in the shooting, which unfolded rapidly after the attacker opened fire inside the secured compound. Medical teams at the site provided emergency treatment before airlifting the wounded.
The military operation is expected to continue for up to a month, depending on battlefield developments and intelligence gathered in the aftermath of the Palmyra attack.
Officials described the operation as one of the largest direct strikes against IS in Syria in recent years.
While casualty estimates were not immediately available, initial assessments indicated that the attacks had significantly degraded several IS facilities.
Intelligence gathered from recent raids pointed to increased communication and coordination among surviving fighters.
American forces have maintained a presence in parts of Syria as part of ongoing efforts to combat remaining elements of IS.
In November, Syrian security forces carried out a nationwide crackdown on suspected IS operatives ahead of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s scheduled visit to Washington. The Interior Ministry reported 61 coordinated raids across the country, resulting in 71 arrests and the seizure of weapons and explosives.
Officials said the arrests were based on specific intelligence linking the detainees to planned terrorist operations and recruitment efforts targeting youth. The raids were conducted days before al-Sharaa became the first sitting Syrian president to visit the U.S. since Syria’s independence in 1946.
Al-Sharaa, who previously led the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, took office following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad last year. Since assuming power, he has moved to distance himself from extremist groups and sought alignment with U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
The November visit to Washington included discussions about Syria potentially joining the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition.
