U.S. forces conducted strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced today.

“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,” Hegseth said.

“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people. As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” he continued.

“Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he added.

Trump vowed revenge on the terror group after soldiers — Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Michigan — were killed Saturday while conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region. The gunman was killed by partner forces.

“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” he wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

He stated U.S. forces were striking ISIS strongholds in Syria, “a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.” He added that the Syrian government was in support of Friday’s strikes.

Trump also reminded anyone wishing to harm Americans anywhere in the world of what awaits them:
“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 goal of the operation was to target locations where ISIS is trying to reconstitute and root out those forces while destroying their infrastructure on a large scale, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. military deployed A-10s, F-16s, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS, with Jordanian F-16s also providing support.