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The US military launched airstrikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an attack on US personnel, two US officials said on Friday.
The attacks come after Donald Trump vowed to hit back after an attack last weekend in Syria by a suspected Islamic State member.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the strikes as a large-scale response that included targets across central Syria.
Trump said on social media that the Syrian government fully supported the strikes and that the US was inflicting “very serious retaliation”.
US Central Command said the strikes hit more than 70 targets across central Syria, adding that Jordanian fighter jets supported the operation.
Syria reiterated its steadfast commitment to fighting Islamic State and ensuring that it has “no safe havens on Syrian territory”, according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
Two US Iowa national guard members and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the US military. Three other US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.
There are currently 1,000 US troops in Syria, posted with the mission to prevent the resurgence of IS in the region.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth suggested attacks against IS would continue.
“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said on social media. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
Hegseth added: “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” He offered no other details about the strikes.
He said the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” and that the operation was “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE”.
The Americans killed last weekend were the first US casualties in the country since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad last year. They were supporting counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State when they were attacked by a lone gunman, per officials in both countries.
The Syrian interior ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State.
On Thursday, Trump signed a law repealing a final batch of crippling economic sanctions on Syria, which were imposed to punish Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s civil war. After Assad was ousted in a December 2024, advocates pushed to have the sanctions lifted.
Syria’s government is led by former rebels who toppled Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, and includes members of Syria’s former Al-Qaida branch who broke with the group and clashed with IS.
Syria has been cooperating with a US-led coalition against Islamic State, reaching an agreement last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.
