President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as transport teams move transport cases with the remains of Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and civilian translator Iyad Mansour Sakat, who were killed in an attack in Syria, repatriate casualties, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
Julia Demarie Nickinson/AP
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Julia Demarie Nickinson/AP
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration launched military strikes Friday in Syria to “eliminate” Islamic State fighters and weapons sites in response to an ambush attack that killed two American soldiers and an American civilian translator nearly a week ago.
A US official described the attack as a “large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas of central Syria where ISIS infrastructure and weapons are located. Another US official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said more strikes were expected.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media: “This is not the start of a war – it is a declaration of retaliation. The United States of America, under the leadership of President Trump, will never hesitate and will never relent in defending our people.”
The new military operation in Syria comes as the Trump administration has said it is looking to focus closer to the Western Hemisphere, building a fleet in the Caribbean Sea where it is targeting alleged drug smuggling boats and vowing to continue seizing sanctioned oil tankers as part of a pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader. The United States has diverted significant resources away from the Middle East to advance these goals: its most advanced aircraft carrier arrived in South American waters last month from the Mediterranean.
Trump vowed revenge
President Donald Trump vowed “very serious retaliation” after the shooting in the Syrian desert, which he blamed on ISIS. The dead were among hundreds of US troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of the coalition fighting the armed group.
During a speech in North Carolina on Friday evening, the president praised the operation as a “huge strike” that eliminated “ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup.”
Earlier, Trump confirmed in his social media post his support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who Trump said “fully supports” American efforts.
Trump also offered a blanket threat, warning ISIS not to attack American personnel again.
The president added: “All terrorists bad enough to attack Americans are on warning – you will be hit harder than ever if you attack or threaten the United States in any way.”
US officials said the attack was carried out using F-15 Eagle aircraft, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters. One of the officials added that F-16 fighter jets from Jordan and HIMARS rocket artillery were used.
US Central Command, which oversees the region, said in a post on social media that US aircraft, helicopters and artillery used more than 100 precision-guided munitions on Syrian targets.
How did Syria respond?
The attack was a major test of the warming relations between the United States and Syria since the overthrow of authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago. Trump stressed that Syria is fighting alongside US forces, and said that Al-Sharaa is “very angry and disturbed by this attack,” which came at a time when the US military is expanding its cooperation with the Syrian security forces.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the website
Syrian state television reported that the American strikes hit targets in the rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governorates and in the Jabal al-Amour area near the historic city of Palmyra. He added that the raids targeted “weapons storage sites and headquarters that ISIS uses as a starting point for its operations in the region.”
ISIS did not claim to have carried out the attack on US service members, but it has claimed responsibility for two attacks on Syrian security forces since then, one of which resulted in the deaths of four Syrian soldiers in Idlib Governorate. In its statements, the group described the Sharaa government and its army as “apostates.” While Sharaa once led an Al Qaeda affiliate, he has had a long-standing feud with ISIS.
Americans who were killed
This week, Trump met privately with families of fallen Americans at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware before joining top military officials and other dignitaries on the tarmac for the dignified transfer, a solemn and largely silent ritual honoring U.S. service members killed in action.
The guards killed in Syria last Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Also killed was Iyad Mansour Sakat, of Macomb, Michigan, an American civilian working as an interpreter.
The shooting near Palmyra also wounded three other American soldiers in addition to members of the Syrian security forces, and killed the gunman. Nour al-Din al-Baba, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the attacker joined the Syrian Internal Security Forces as a security guard for the base two months ago, and was recently reassigned on suspicion of belonging to ISIS.
The man stormed a meeting between American and Syrian security officials who were having lunch together and opened fire after clashing with the Syrian guards.