US forces have launched an operation against ISIS in Syria in response to an attack in Palmyra that left three Americans dead, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Friday.
Mr Hegseth said in a post on social media that the strikes – called Operation Hawkeye Strike – were aimed at eliminating ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites.
“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” he wrote. “The United States of America, under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
US Central Command that US and partnered forces conducted 10 operations resulting in the death or detention of 23 people. The operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS-affiliated sites.
Media outlets reported that at least some of the strikes occurred in Raqqa, the former ISIS capital, and Deir Ezzor, where the group made its final major stand in 2017.
Centcom chief Admiral Brad Cooper said the operation was “critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the US homeland”.
Last week, Centcom said a lone gunman opened fire on American soldiers who had been supporting counter-terrorism operations in the city of Palmyra, which was once held by ISIS. Two soldiers and an interpreter were killed, and three other people were wounded.
A senior Syrian official in the area told The National following the attack that the man had been a member of Syria's internal security forces and was “associated with ISIS”.
“As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans – anywhere in the world – you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Mr Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”
Writing on his Truth Social account, Mr Trump described Syria as being “soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated”.
“The Government of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring Greatness back to Syria, and is fully in support,” he wrote, referring to Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned – YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A.”
The strikes come after Syrian forces carried out a large raid in Damascus, seizing drones and explosives from a suspected hideout.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on social media that Damascus “reiterates its steadfast commitment to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory, and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat”.
“The Syrian Arab Republic invites the United States and member states of the international coalition to support these efforts in a manner that contributes to the protection of civilians and the restoration of security and stability in the region,“ it added.
There are currently about 1,000 US troops based in Syria. In 2014, the administration of then-president Barack Obama launched an air campaign against ISIS in Syria as well as Iraq after the group took over large swathes of territory with the aim of establishing a so-called caliphate.
The following year, the first American troops entered Syria, joining forces with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country’s north-east.
By 2019, ISIS had lost all of the territory it had formerly held, though pockets of fighters still remain scattered throughout Syria.
