\n The US struck multiple targets in Syria on Friday that the US military tied to ISIS as retaliation for the recent attack against American troops there that killed two service members, according to two US officials.\n <\/p>\n
\n Dubbed \u201cOperation Hawkeye,\u201d a reference to the fact that the two US soldiers killed were from the \u201cHawkeye State\u201d of Iowa, the strikes hit dozens of targets the military connected to ISIS \u2014 including infrastructure and weapons storage sites across Syria, one of the officials said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the strikes a \u201cdeclaration of vengeance,\u201d in a post on X late Friday afternoon.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis is not the beginning of a war \u2014 it is a declaration of vengeance,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe United States of America, under President Trump\u2019s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n After the attack on December 13 that killed the two soldiers and a civilian interpreter, US and partner forces conducted 10 operations resulting in the death or detention of around 23 people, that official added. Those operations also yielded intelligence from electronics gathered during the operations that provided information contributing to targeting for the strikes, according to the same US official.\n <\/p>\n
\n Hundreds of American troops continue to be deployed to Syria as part of the US\u2019 longstanding mission to combat ISIS, a mission that began when ISIS rapidly took control of a large chunk of Syria and Iraq in the mid 2010s. Subsequently, US and partner operations, paired with a change in regime in Syria, largely eliminated that territorial control.\n <\/p>\n
\n The goal of Operation Hawkeye is to deliver a big blow to ISIS remnants in Syria and their ability to pose a threat to US forces in the region, the same official told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n Partner nations, including Jordan, joined the US in the strikes, the official said.\n <\/p>\n
\n While the Trump administration vowed retaliation against ISIS in the wake of the December 13 attack, CNN has reported<\/a> that Syria\u2019s Ministry of Interior Affairs said the attacker had been a part of Syria\u2019s Internal Security service. US and Syrian officials acknowledged to CNN that the gunman\u2019s ties to ISIS are not entirely clear-cut; ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack.\n <\/p>\n