Trump says US launches large-scale attacks on ISIL in Syria

President Donald Trump declares that the US military is “striking very seriously against ISIL] strongholds in Syria” following the fatal shooting of two US soldiers and an interpreter in Palmyra city, Syria.

Trump stated on Friday on his Truth Social platform, “Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, I am hereby announcing that the United States is retaliating very severely, just as I promised, against the murderous terrorists responsible.”

Trump claimed that the Syrian government, which was created in support of the US military operation after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, was “fully supporting” the operation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria also responded, stating its commitment to ISIL combat.

In a statement released on X, the Ministry stated that the Syrian Arab Republic “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to fighting ISIS, ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory, and ensuring that it has no safe havens there.”

Prior to the strikes, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” were the targets of the operation, calling it “Operation Hawkeye Strike.”

Hegseth stated in a post on social media that “this is not the start of a war.” We killed and hunted our adversaries today. a lot of them And we’ll keep going.”

According to two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the strikes targeted numerous ISIL targets throughout central Syria.

According to Rosiland Jordan, a journalist from Washington, DC, the White House reiterates that the killing of US personnel in Syria “was going to be met with a response that was comparable.”

Although no one is yet known about the targets hit and how many people were hurt or killed, US military Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it would soon release more information.

Jordan added that it appeared the Syrian government had “signed off” on the US operation.

The US does not know whether any Syrian defense forces are participating in this retaliatory action, but Jordan said Jordan believes it is crucial to assisting Syria in overcoming the Assad regime’s decades of dictatorship.

She continued, “To help Syria move into its next phase as a sovereign country, the US considers removing the members of ISIL as a threat to national security.”

An attacker targeted a convoy of US and Syrian forces before shooting them dead, according to the US military, killing three Americans, including two members of the US National Guard and one civilian interpreter, in Palmyra over the weekend.

The attack also left three US soldiers with injuries.

As part of a multiyear operation that targets the remnants of ISIL forces in the area, US troops are stationed in Syria.

In recent months, a coalition led by the US has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria, often with the assistance of Syria’s security forces.