US strikes dozens of sites in Syria in retaliation for troops’ deaths

The US military launched a series of strikes against dozens of sites in central Syria, US officials said, after an attack last weekend that killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter.

The strikes were ongoing and expected to target Isis infrastructure and weapons storage locations, said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. A-10 attack jets, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and Apache helicopters were involved along with rocket artillery fired by US forces in the region, the official said.

The assault follows a December 13 ambush at a military base in the city of Palmyra that killed two members of the Iowa National Guard – Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, 29 – and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 54, an Iraq-born interpreter who lived in Michigan. US President Donald Trump vowed after their deaths to retaliate.

President Donald Trump salutes as US military personnel carry the remains of a soldier killed in Syria. Photo / Getty Images

No one has taken responsibility for the attack, but US officials have said Isis is likely to blame.

In the past week, US troops had joined with regional partner forces to carry out 10 operations across Iraq and Syria that resulted in the death or detention of 23 suspected Isis members, the US official said. US forces often use intelligence gathered in such operations to inform future military strikes.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, writing on social media, said the assault, which he dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, was “in direct response to the attack” last weekend that claimed the lives of American personnel.

“This is not the beginning of the war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”

Hegseth said anyone who targets Americans “will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you”.

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