The United States military struck ISIS terrorists on Friday after two U.S. service members were killed along with an interpreter, according to Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Fox News reported that over 70 targets were struck in the operation that included “ISIS infrastructure and weapons storage sites,” according to a top U.S. official.
‘This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance.’
“Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria,” Hegseth wrote on social media.
A lone Islamic State gunman ambushed the U.S. forces in Palmyra, which also left three other U.S. soldiers wounded. President Donald Trump vowed “very serious retaliation” at the time.
There are about 900 U.S. troops currently in Syria.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth added. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
The attack had been the first to cause U.S. fatalities since the end of the Assad regime in 2014. Bashar al-Assad and his family fled to Russia after Turkish-backed Islamic militants successfully seized control of the government.
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“As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Hegseth continued.
“Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies,” he added. “Lots of them. And we will continue.”
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