United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced this Friday (19) that American forces began an operation in Syria in response to an Islamic State attack that killed two military personnel from the country last Saturday (13).
“Today, U.S. forces began Operation Hawkeye Strike in Syria to eliminate Islamic State fighters, infrastructure, and weapons facilities in direct response to the December 13 attack on U.S. forces in Palmyra, Syria,” Hegseth wrote in X.
The secretary stated that this is not “the start of a war — it is a declaration of revenge”.
An American government official told CBS broadcaster that attacks are taking place in several locations in central Syria, using fighter planes, attack helicopters and artillery. CNN sources reported that around 70 targets were hit.
“The United States of America, under the leadership of President [Donald] Trump, will never hesitate and will never give in to defend their people,” said Hegseth.
“As we said shortly after the brutal attack, if you attack Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, harrowing life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you mercilessly. Today, we hunt and kill our enemies. Many of them. And we will continue,” the secretary added.
Shortly after Hegseth’s post, Trump commented on the operation on the Truth Social network and said that the Syrian government supports the action.
“In light of the brutal murder of brave American patriots by the Islamic State in Syria, whose noble souls I welcomed back to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I announce that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” the American president wrote.
In the attack in Palmyra, sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, from the Iowa National Guard, and an interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, were killed in an ambush carried out by an Islamic State sniper. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack.
