Operation Hawkeye: US army launches dozens of strikes in opposition to ISIS targets in Syria | EUROtoday

The US army carried out airstrikes in opposition to ISIS in Syria on Saturday in one other retaliatory strike over an assault that killed American service members.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that it had carried out strikes “throughout Syria” as a part of Operation Hawkeye, with out disclosing casualties.

An unnamed US official informed CNN that the operation launched 90 precision munitions at greater than 35 targets, utilizing over two dozen plane.

Footage shared on CENTCOM’s social media confirmed F-15E fighter jets and A-10 Warthogs taking off in a montage with grainy ‘unclassified’ footage of explosions.

“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” an announcement learn.

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CENTCOM didn’t specify precisely the place the strikes befell, and solely famous that they occurred within the early afternoon, US Eastern Time.

The army mentioned the assaults had been a part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, launched final month after Islamic State militants killed US army personnel in Syria.

Two American troopers and a civilian interpreter had been killed in that December 13 incident in Palmyra, it mentioned. The troopers had been recognized as 25-year-old Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar of Des Moines, Iowa, and 29-year-old Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown, Iowa.

Three different Iowa National Guard members had been wounded within the assault blamed on ISIS.

“The strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region,” CENTCOM mentioned on Saturday.

“US and coalition forces remain resolute in pursuing terrorists who seek to harm the United States.”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared the assertion, including: “We will never forget, and never relent.”

Florida Rep Jimmy Patronis added: “The United States maintains the most lethal fighting force in the world. Let it be known, POTUS’ peace through strength agenda was not a slogan, but a promise kept.”

The Trump administration introduced the operation in December, launching a large-scale strike with Jordan that hit 70 targets throughout central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

These strikes are a part of broader efforts by a US-led coalition, which has been conducting each aerial and floor operations in opposition to suspected ISIS members throughout Syria in current months, steadily together with Syrian safety forces.

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The Syrian authorities has been cooperating in opposition to ISIS after reaching an settlement late final 12 months when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.

Syria is led by ex-rebels who toppled former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024 after a 13-year civil conflict, and consists of members of Syria’s former Al Qaeda department who broke with the group and clashed with Islamic State.

The Pentagon referred questions on Saturday’s strikes again to the CENTCOM assertion, and the State Department didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.