Hegseth Launches Strikes Of ‘Vengeance’ In Syria After American Troops Killed By ISIS
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the United States had conducted strikes against ISIS targets in Syria in response to an attack last weekend that left two American troops dead.
Hegseth said that the strikes were not about starting a new war, but enacting “vengeance” for an ISIS attack targeting American forces last Saturday.
“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 posted on X. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
“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,” he added. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”
Citing an American official, the New York Times said that the strikes targeted dozens of ISIS sites throughout central Syria. The operation is set to be a “a massive attack,” the official said.
A later post from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) showed video of multiple strikes carried out in Syria.
Tonight, U.S. and Jordanian forces struck 70+ ISIS targets in Syria with 100+ precision munitions. Peace through strength. pic.twitter.com/XWWvfqBBFT
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 20, 2025
The attacks last week killed two troops identified as 29-year-old Nate Howard and 25-year-old Edgar Torres. An American interpreter named Ayad Mansoor Sakat was also killed in the attack. Both Howard and Torres were members of the Iowa National Guard.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and Hegseth attended a dignified transfer of the soldier’s remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
After the attacks last weekend, Trump said that the United States would retaliate.
“I can tell you in Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it, that they got the person, the individual person, but there’ll be big damage done,” Trump said on Sunday.
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