U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in Washington, DC, U.S., on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.
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The U.S. navy launched large-scale strikes towards dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an assault on American personnel, U.S. officers stated.
A U.S.-led coalition has been finishing up airstrikes and floor operations in Syria concentrating on Islamic State suspects in current months, usually with the involvement of Syria’s safety forces.
President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after a suspected ISIS assault killed U.S. personnel final weekend in Syria.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the strikes focused “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons websites” and that the operation was “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE.”
“This isn’t the start of a warfare — it’s a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth stated. “Right now, we hunted and we killed our enemies. A number of them. And we’ll proceed,” he added.
Trump stated on social media that the Syrian authorities absolutely supported the strikes and that the U.S. was inflicting “very critical retaliation.”
At a speech in North Carolina on Friday night time, Trump referred to as it a “huge” blow towards the ISIS members that the U.S. blames for the Dec. 13 assault on coalition forces.
“We hit the ISIS thugs in Syria. … It was very profitable,” Trump stated at a rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
U.S. Central Command stated the strikes hit greater than 70 targets throughout central Syria, including that Jordanian fighter jets supported the operation.
One U.S. official stated the strikes had been carried out by U.S. F-15 and A-10 jets, together with Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket techniques.
Syria reiterated its steadfast dedication to combating Islamic State and guaranteeing that it has “no protected havens on Syrian territory,” in accordance with an announcement by the overseas ministry.
Two U.S. Military troopers and a civilian interpreter had been killed on Saturday within the central Syrian city of Palmyra by an attacker who focused a convoy of American and Syrian forces earlier than being shot lifeless, in accordance with the U.S. navy. Three different U.S. troopers had been additionally wounded within the assault.
About 1,000 U.S. troops stay in Syria.
The Syrian Inside Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian safety forces suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State.
Syria’s authorities is led by former rebels who toppled chief Bashar al-Assad final yr after a 13-year civil warfare, and consists of members of Syria’s former Al Qaeda department who broke with the group and clashed with Islamic State.
Syria has been cooperating with a U.S.-led coalition towards Islamic State, reaching an settlement final month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White Home.
