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The US military launched airstrikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria Friday in retaliation for an attack on U.S. personnel, U.S. officials said Friday.
President Donald Trump had vowed to fight back after an attack on U.S. personnel last weekend in Syria by a suspected member of the Islamic State.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” and declared it an “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE”.
“This is not the start of a war, this is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. “Today we hunted and we killed our enemies. Many of them. And we will continue,” he added.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes targeted dozens of Islamic State targets in central Syria.
Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed Saturday in the central Syrian city of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces before being shot down, according to the U.S. military. Three other American soldiers were also injured in the attack.
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A U.S.-led coalition has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the participation of Syrian security forces.
About 1,000 American troops remain in Syria.
The Syrian Interior Ministry described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State.
Syria’s government is now led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar al-Assad last year after 13 years of civil war, and includes members of al-Qaeda’s former Syrian branch who broke away from the group and clashed with Islamic State.
Syria has cooperated with a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, reaching an agreement last month during President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.
