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The United States forces struck more than 70 Islamic State group targets in Syria on Friday in what President Donald Trump described as “very serious retaliation” for an attack that killed three Americans last weekend.
According to AFP, Washington said a lone gunman from the militant group carried out the attack in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by jihadist fighters, that left two US soldiers and a US civilian dead on December 13.
In response, the United States “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
CENTCOM added that the operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.
It also stated that US and allied forces have conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives, following the Palmyra attack, without specifying which groups the militants belonged to.
US President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation on the murderous terrorists responsible, and that those who attack Americans “will be hit harder than you have ever been hit before.”
Syria’s foreign ministry said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the country is committed to fighting the Islamic State (IS) group and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory, and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat.
The Americans killed in the Palmyra attack last weekend were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a civilian from Michigan who worked as an interpreter.
