Operation Hawkeye Strike explained: Inside the US launch of large-scale attacks on 70 ISIS targets in Syria

Operation Hawkeye Strike explained: How the US launched large-scale attacks on 70 ISIS targets in Syria

The United States has launched a major military operation in Syria, dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters, weapons depots, and infrastructure, days after an ambush killed two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter.

According to a US official cited by the Associated Press, American forces carried out a “large-scale” strike on around 70 targets across central Syria linked to IS operations. More strikes are expected.

Announcing the operation, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X,  “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”

“Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he added.

The operation is a direct response to a December 13 attack in the central Syrian city of Palmyra, where two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led international mission against Islamic State.

The attacker was later shot dead after targeting a convoy of American and Syrian forces. Three additional US soldiers were wounded in the assault.

The two soldiers killed were identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, a member of the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment.

The name “Hawkeye” references Iowa, known as the Hawkeye State, a US official told CNN.

US President Donald Trump said the strikes were ordered in retaliation for what he described as the “ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible.”

“We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place 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 added.

Trump also issued a warning to extremist groups, “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 USA.”

US officials said the strikes hit ISIS infrastructure, weapons storage sites, and operational bases across central Syria. Media reports said the operation involved F-15 Eagle fighter jets, A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

Syria has been cooperating with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Reuters cited Syria’s interior ministry as saying the attacker was a member of Syrian security forces suspected of sympathising with IS.

Syria’s current government, led by former rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad after a 13-year civil war, includes figures from a former Al Qaeda-linked group that later broke away and clashed with the Islamic State.

While Syria’s foreign ministry did not directly comment on the US strikes, it said Damascus remains committed to fighting IS and ensuring the group has no safe havens on Syrian territory.

Trump has long expressed scepticism about US troop deployments in Syria. While he ordered a withdrawal during his first term, American forces remained.

In April, the Pentagon announced plans to halve US troop levels in Syria in the coming months, with US officials indicating that Washington eventually aims to reduce its footprint to a single base. US forces are currently deployed in northeast Syria and at Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border.

Operation Hawkeye Strike signals a sharp warning that, despite drawdown plans, attacks on US personnel will continue to trigger swift and forceful retaliation.