Washington/Damascus, 20 December 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The United States on Friday said it started an operation to eliminate members of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria in response to an attack that killed two US soldiers and a US interpreter last week.

On December 13, two US soldiers and a US interpreter were killed in Palmyra in an attack believed to have been carried out by Islamic State. The Pentagon at the time said their mission had been to support ongoing operations against Islamic State and terrorism in the region. Three people were also injured in the attack.

US President Donald Trump subsequently vowed revenge against the terrorist group, which so far has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria," US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X on Friday.

"This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance," Hegseth continued, adding: "Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue."

The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for the region, said on X that it had launched the operation at around 2100 GMT, striking more than 70 Islamic State targets at multiple locations across central Syria.

CENTCOM said the operation involved fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery and employed more than 100 precision munitions against known Islamic State infrastructure and weapons sites. It said Jordanian fighter aircraft also supported the strikes.

"This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland." said Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM. "We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region."

Local residents told dpa that airstrikes were carried out on sites believed to belong to Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria, in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has been documenting violence in Syria since 2011, said that the strikes killed a senior Islamic State cell leader and several members of the cell responsible for attacks in Deir ez-Zor.

The US leads an international coalition in Syria to fight the Islamic State militia. The operation began after the terrorist group overran large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

Islamic State is considered militarily defeated, but its fighters remain active in both countries and continue to carry out attacks.

Trump speaks of 'very serious retaliation'

Trump on Friday said "the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible" for the killings of "brave American Patriots" last Saturday.

"The Government of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring Greatness back to Syria, and is fully in support," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned," Trump said. "YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry meanwhile said it was committed to "combating the Islamic State (ISIS) and ensuring that it has no safe havens anywhere in the country.

"We will continue to intensify military operations against ISIS in all areas where it poses a threat. We call on the United States and member states of the international coalition to support Syria's efforts in combating terrorism."

The General Command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a statement extended "its sincere appreciation to the American forces and the international coalition forces for the precise air and missile strikes that targeted the hideouts of the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria during the past hours."

"This continuous air support represents a decisive factor in preventing the organization from regrouping its cells or restoring its sabotage activity," the statement continued.

Residents describe the strikes

Local residents told dpa that US warplanes conducted strikes in the deserts of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

They said four explosions were heard in the al-Bishri area in south-eastern rural Raqqa late on Friday accompanied by the sound of warplanes flying over eastern Raqqa and western Deir ez-Zor, an area where Islamic State sleeper cells have been active since the beginning of the month.

The sources added that coalition forces had launched a similar operation on Wednesday night which targeted Islamic State positions in the Maadan desert in south-eastern rural Raqqa. That attack reportedly resulted in the death of three people and the arrest of a fourth.

Residents in Deir ez-Zor province also reported hearing several explosions in the desert south-east of the city of al-Mayadeen in eastern Deir ez-Zor, although no aircraft were seen or heard in the sky at the time.

Residents told dpa that people in north-eastern rural Deir ez-Zor heard rockets being launched from US military bases in the al-Shaddadi area, located in the south-eastern countryside of al-Hasakah province.

Photo: MIA archive