US carries out large-scale retaliatory strikes against Daesh in Syria, say officials

• US has 1,000 troops in Syria.
• Retaliatory strikes come after attack on US troops.
• Trump says Syrian president backs US military action against Daesh.

The US military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an attack on US personnel, US officials said.

A US-led coalition had already been carrying out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Daesh suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces.

President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after a suspected Daesh attack killed US personnel last weekend in Syria.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes targeted “Daesh fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” and said the operation was “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE.”

“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he added.

Trump said on social media that the Syrian government fully supported the strikes and that the US was inflicting “very serious retaliation.”

One US official said the strikes hit more than 70 targets across central Syria and were carried out by F-15 and A-10 jets, along with Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems.

Syria reiterated its steadfast commitment to fighting Islamic State and ensuring that it has “no safe havens on Syrian territory,” according to a statement by the foreign ministry.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the US military. Three other US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

About 1,000 US troops remain in Syria.

The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathising with Daesh.

Syria’s government is now led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, and includes members of Syria’s former Al Qaeda branch who broke with the group and clashed with Daesh.

Syria has been cooperating with a US-led coalition against Daesh, reaching an agreement last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.