WASHINGTON: The United States carried out airstrikes against dozens of Islamic State (IS) targets across central Syria, officials said, in retaliation for a deadly attack on US personnel last week.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” under an operation dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, adding that additional action could follow.
Hegseth said in a statement that it was not the beginning of a war but a "declaration of vengeance", adding that they had hunted and killed their enemies, many of them, and would continue to do so.
Hegseth also detailed the operation in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “Earlier today, US forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on US forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria.