US hits dozens of ISIS-linked sites in Syria in retaliation for deadly attack on American forces

US retaliates against ISIS in Syria

The United States carried out strikes on multiple targets in Syria on Friday linked by the US military to ISIS, in retaliation for a recent attack that killed two American service members, according to two US officials.

The operation, known as “Operation Hawkeye” — a reference to the two fallen soldiers’ home state of Iowa, the “Hawkeye State” — targeted dozens of ISIS-linked sites, including infrastructure and weapons storage facilities across Syria, one official said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the action as a “declaration of vengeance” in a post on X late on Friday.

“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” he wrote. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”

Following the December 13 attack that killed two soldiers and a civilian interpreter, US and partner forces carried out 10 operations that resulted in the death or detention of about 23 people, the official added. Electronics seized during those missions yielded intelligence that helped identify targets for Friday’s strikes.

Hundreds of US troops remain deployed in Syria as part of a long-running mission to combat ISIS, which began after the group seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in the mid-2010s. Subsequent US and allied operations, along with a change in Syria’s regime, significantly reduced ISIS’s territorial control.

The aim of Operation Hawkeye is to deliver a major blow to remaining ISIS elements in Syria and reduce their ability to threaten US forces in the region, the official told according to CNN.

Partner countries, including Jordan, also took part in the strikes, according to the official.

Although the Trump administration pledged retaliation against ISIS after the December 13 attack, Syria’s Ministry of Interior Affairs said the attacker was part of Syria’s Internal Security service. US and Syrian officials have acknowledged that the assailant’s links to ISIS are not entirely clear, and the group has not claimed responsibility.

The two US service members killed were identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. The US Army said they were killed while engaging hostile forces in Palmyra, Syria. Both were assigned to the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

Three other Iowa National Guard members were wounded in the attack and evacuated for further medical treatment.

“Our priority right now is supporting the families of our fallen and wounded soldiers,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborne, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, said previously. “The entire Iowa National Guard grieves for this terrible loss, and we stand together to support the soldiers and their families.”

About 1,800 Iowa National Guard troops began deploying to the Middle East earlier this year as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a release from Governor Kim Reynolds’ office.