War Secretary Pete Hegseth said this was ‘not the beginning of a war.’
U.S. forces launched a “massive strike” on the ISIS terrorist group’s infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria on Dec. 19, according to U.S. Central Command.
“This is not the beginning of a war—it is a declaration of vengeance,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in an X post on Friday.
“The United States of America, under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was directed by Trump, struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations starting at 4 p.m. ET, the Pentagon confirmed in a statement to The Epoch Times.
The Pentagon shared that fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery were used in the center of the country.
The operation employed more than 100 precision munitions, which are sometimes referred to as “smart bombs,” which use a system to direct a weapon to a ground target.
The Jordanian Armed Forces supported the operations with fighter aircraft.
Friday’s attack was a response to the Dec. 13 ambush by a “lone ISIS gunman” which killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter and wounded three others in Palmyra, Syria, U.S. Central Command said.
“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 reiterated on X.
Hegseth did not reveal how many died in Friday’s attack but shared that since Americans were attacked on Dec. 13, the United States and partner forces have conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq, “resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives.”
“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
Trump praised Friday’s strikes on ISIS in a Truth Social post.
“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Trump wrote in a post on Friday night.
Trump said the recent attacks are a warning to any terrorists wishing to harm Americans.
By Jacki Thrapp
