US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had launched a “very strong retaliatory strike” against the terrorist organization ISIS in Syria, following an attack about a week ago that killed two American soldiers..

Shortly after the Pentagon announced the launch of a large-scale military operation, the US President wrote on his “Truth Social” platform: “We are directing very strong strikes against the organization’s strongholds in Syria.”

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said via X: “US forces began Operation Hawk Eye Strike in Syria to eliminate the organization’s fighters, infrastructure, and weapons storage sites.”

Hegseth described the operation as a “direct response” and a “declaration of revenge” after the attack that resulted in the killing of three Americans, two soldiers and a translator, in Syria on Saturday. He said, “Today we pursued our enemies and killed them. Many of them. We will continue to do so.”

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a statement, “More than 70 targets were struck across central Syria using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery.”

Centcom’s statement set the start of the operation at 16:00 Friday, Washington time (21:00 GMT), adding that “more than 100 types of precision-guided munitions” had been used against sites controlled by ISIS..

“No safe havens“

A Syrian security source told Agence France-Presse that air strikes were carried out in the desert in the countryside of Homs and in rural areas near Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa..
A local official reported that the explosions were followed by “shrapnel falling from medium-caliber fire” in the desert, southwest of Raqqa..

Shortly after the US air strikes, the Syrian Foreign Ministry affirmed in a statement on Saturday “Syria’s firm commitment to combating ISIS and ensuring that there are no safe havens for it on Syrian territory,” without directly referring to the strikes..

She stressed that the Syrian authorities “will continue to intensify military operations against the organization in all areas it threatens.”

Centcom indicated that since Saturday’s attack on its forces, “the United States and its allied forces have carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq that resulted in the killing or arrest of 23 terrorist elements,” without specifying the organizations to which the militants belong..