U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that U.S. forces earlier on Friday launched an operation dubbed “Falcon Eye” and carried out a strike in Syria aimed at eliminating ISIS fighters, confirming that the operation is ongoing.
Two U.S. officials said the American military conducted airstrikes on dozens of ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, in response to an attack on U.S. troops.
These strikes followed a pledge by President Donald Trump to retaliate for an attack that targeted U.S. soldiers in Syria over the past weekend by an individual suspected of belonging to ISIS.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the strikes as a broad-based response that included attacks on targets in central Syria.
The U.S. military said that two of its service members and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the city of Palmyra in central Syria by an assailant who targeted a convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces before being shot dead. Three other U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack.
The U.S.-led coalition has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting suspected ISIS members over the past few months, often in coordination with Syrian security forces.
Reuters
