The US military launched retaliatory strikes on Friday against ISIS targets in Syria, according to a statement released by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on social media.
Hegseth said “Operation Hawkeye Strike” was carried out in Syria “to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on US forces that occurred on December 13.” in Palmyra, Syria.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle prepares to land at Kadena AB, Japan, Aug. 4, 2025.
Sgt. Dwane R. Young/USAF
“This is not the beginning of a war. It is a declaration of revenge,” Hegseth said. “The United States of America, under the leadership of President Trump, will never hesitate or relent in defending our people.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens during an event at the State Department, Dec. 8, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
The attacks in Syria are retaliation for the killing Saturday of three Americans in Palmyra, Syria, by what CENTCOM said was a lone ISIS gunman who was later killed.
Reports from inside Syria, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring agency, reported that explosions had been heard in areas of the country.
Among the three fatalities were two members of the Iowa National Guard and an American civilian interpreter; Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Dec. 17, 2025, upon returning from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Later on Saturday, President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States would retaliate against ISIS for the attack.
The next day he said that “a lot of harm will be done in Syria to the people who did it.”
Friday’s large-scale retaliatory strikes involved fighter jets, attack helicopters and the use of artillery, according to a U.S. official, who said U.S. forces were targeting “dozens and dozens” of ISIS weapons areas and infrastructure in central Syria.
The official added that the retaliatory strikes were aimed at dealing “a significant blow” to the remaining ISIS forces in Syria, its infrastructure and eliminating ISIS weapons areas.
In this Jan. 9, 2025, file photo, U.S. forces patrol in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli in Hasakeh province.
Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
currently there are 1,000 US troops in Syria, most of them located in eastern Syria, with the continuing mission to prevent a resurgence of ISIS, which was militarily defeated in 2019.
Between 100 and 150 U.S. troops in Syria are based at At Tanq Garrison, a remote outpost located on Syria’s border with Jordan. The Iowa National Guard members who were targeted in Saturday’s attack were based at that outpost, which was visited Friday by Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, according to a source familiar with the visit.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wave as members of the military carry transfer boxes of the remains of Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria, said Sgt. Edgar Torres Tovar and Sgt. William Howard at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, December 17, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The Iowa National Guard members who were targeted in Saturday’s attack were based at that outpost, which was visited Friday by Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, according to a source familiar with the visit.
Sergeant. William “Nate” Howard, Sgt. Edgar Torres Tovar and his American civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, were killed in an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman on Saturday while carrying out an engagement with a key leader, according to a CENTCOM statement.
They were the first combat deaths of US military personnel in Syria since 2019.
