Trump launches massive strikes against IS in Syria after Americans killed

Donald Trump said he had the full support from the Syrian president, his new ally, to bomb ISIS targets after three American were ‘ambushed’ and killed

The US said it pounded ISIS militants in a “massive strike” against the terror group after three Americans were killed in a fatal attack.

Fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria “, the US Central Command revealed last night. Donald Trump said the US military had full support from the Syrian government to unleash the attack, adding that it inflicted “very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible”.

This comes after two US soldiers and a US interpreter were killed in an ambush attack by a “by a lone ISIS gunman”, on December 13.

The US government said Operation Hawkeye Strike was launched at 4pm ET (9pm GMT) on Friday. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the huge strike in a social media post in a chilling threat to ISIS.

He 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.

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

The US has formed an new close relationship with the Syrian government, after Bashar al-Assad was unexpectedly overthrown and forced to flee to his despot pal Vladimir Putin in Russia. Trump had praised Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa, adding his strikes were targeting ISIS militants and not Syrians.

The US President wrote: “We are striking very strongly against 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.”

After last weeks attack, Trump blamed the terror group and issued a chilling threat and promised “there will be very serious retaliation”.

He added: “This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them. The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”

The two US troops killed in in the ISIS attack, last Saturday, were identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, from Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, from Marshalltown. Civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, from Macomb, Michigan, also died in the deadly IS attack.

The shooting incident, which happened near the historic city of Palmyra, also injured three other US troops and members of Syria’s security forces, and resulted in the death of the gunman.