Operation named after Iowa, home state of slain U.S. troops
The Pentagon confirmed Friday night that U.S. forces launched Operation Hawkeye Strike, a series of airstrikes targeting more than 30 ISIS-linked sites in northern and central Syria.
Defense officials said the operation was carried out in response to last weekend’s terror attack on a U.S. military convoy near Palmyra that killed two National Guard soldiers and a civilian interpreter. The mission’s name honors Iowa, the home state of the two fallen service members.
Officials frame action as limited response
In a post on X, War Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strikes as a retaliatory measure, not the start of a broader military campaign.
“The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” Hegseth wrote.
Pentagon officials echoed that message, emphasizing that the operation was focused on degrading ISIS capabilities tied to the Palmyra attack.
The New York Times continues:
American fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery salvos struck dozens of suspected Islamic State sites at several locations across central Syria, including weapons storage areas and other buildings to support operations, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
The American air and artillery attacks were expected to last several hours, deep into early Saturday morning in Syria, in what the U.S. official said would be “a massive attack.”
Social media accounts in Syria reported explosions across wide swaths of the country.
The soldiers slain last Saturday were the first American casualties in the country since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad last year. They were supporting counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, when they came under fire from a lone gunman, American and Syrian officials said.
Slain soldiers identified
On Monday, the U.S. Army identified the two soldiers killed as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29.
Officials have not publicly identified the civilian interpreter who was also killed in the attack.
ISIS threat persists amid instability
The latest strikes align with ongoing U.S. counter-ISIS operations in eastern Syria, where terrorist remnants continue to exploit instability following the collapse of the Assad government.
U.S. officials have pointed to recent attacks as evidence of the ongoing threat, including a Dec. 15 improvised explosive device attack on Syrian forces in Deir ez-Zor.
Despite years of sustained pressure on ISIS leadership, defense officials say the group remains capable of launching deadly attacks, particularly in ungoverned or lightly secured areas of the country.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
READ NEXT: Top Trump Official Drops New Epstein Bombshell On Fox News
