U.S. hits ISIS in Syria with large retaliatory strikes, officials say

The U.S. subject launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets successful Syria connected Friday successful retaliation for an onslaught connected American personnel, U.S. officials said.

A U.S.-led conjugation has been carrying retired airstrikes and crushed operations successful Syria targeting Islamic State suspects successful caller months, often with the engagement of Syria's information forces.

President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate aft a suspected ISIS onslaught killed U.S. unit past play successful Syria.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes targeted "ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites" and that the cognition was "OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE."

"This is not the opening of a warfare — it is simply a declaration of vengeance," Hegseth said. "Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we volition continue," helium added.

Trump said connected societal media that the Syrian authorities afloat supported the strikes and that the U.S. was inflicting "very superior retaliation."

At a code successful North Carolina connected Friday night, Trump called it a "massive" stroke against the ISIS members that the U.S. blames for the Dec. 13 onslaught connected conjugation forces.

"We deed the ISIS thugs successful Syria. … It was precise successful," Trump said astatine a rally successful Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes deed much than 70 targets crossed cardinal Syria, adding that Jordanian combatant jets supported the operation.

One U.S. authoritative said the strikes were carried retired by U.S. F-15 and A-10 jets, on with Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems.

Syria reiterated its steadfast committedness to warring Islamic State and ensuring that it has "no harmless havens connected Syrian territory," according to a connection by the overseas ministry.

Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed connected Saturday successful the cardinal Syrian municipality of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces earlier being changeable dead, according to the U.S. military. Three different U.S. soldiers were besides wounded successful the attack.

About 1,000 U.S. troops stay successful Syria.

The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker arsenic a subordinate of the Syrian information forces suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State.

Syria's authorities is led by erstwhile rebels who toppled person Bashar al-Assad past twelvemonth aft a 13-year civilian war, and includes members of Syria's erstwhile Al Qaeda subdivision who broke with the radical and clashed with Islamic State.

Syria has been cooperating with a U.S.-led conjugation against Islamic State, reaching an statement past period erstwhile President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.