This Friday, December 19, United States military forces launched large-scale attacks against dozens of Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria. According to US officials, the operation comes as a direct response to an attack on US personnel that occurred last Saturday.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the mission “Operation Hawkeye Strike”, revealing that the bombings targeted the terrorist group’s fighters, infrastructure and weapons depots.
“This is not the start of a war — it is a declaration of revenge,” Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted and killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he said in an official statement.
President Donald Trump confirmed, through social media, that the Syrian government fully supported the attacks, describing the action as a “very serious retaliation”.
According to official sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the attacks hit targets in central Syria and were carried out by F-15 and A-10 fighter jets, Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket artillery systems.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its commitment to fighting the Islamic State, ensuring that the group will not have “safe havens in Syrian territory”. The Syrian government is currently led by former rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad last year after 13 years of civil war. This new leadership has cooperated closely with the US-led coalition.
The offensive that has just begun was motivated by the death of two US army soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the city of Palmyra. The attacker, who was killed at the scene, was identified by the Syrian Interior Ministry as a member of the security forces suspected of sympathizing with ISIS.
Currently, there remain approximately 1000 US military personnel deployed in Syria.