President Trump makes good on his promise to strike back at ISIS in Syria
Following the killing of two U.S. servicemen and a civilian interpreter in Syria, President Trump vowed to retaliate against ISIS – and he followed through
by Summer Lane | December 22, 2025
President Donald Trump has made good on his promise to strike back at ISIS following the killing of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Syria this month.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday announced a military operation, Hawkeye Strike, in Syria “to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13 in Palmyra, Syria.”
The operation commenced last Friday, and Hegseth made it clear this was “not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance.”
Retaliation against Syrian ISIS targets came after President Donald Trump participated in a dignified transfer ceremony last week to receive the bodies of fallen U.S. soldiers, Sgt. William Howard and Sgt. Edgar Torres Tovar of Iowa. Civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat was also brought home to rest.
“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” President Trump wrote in a Truth Social statement last Friday.
According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), 70 ISIS targets were struck by U.S. military forces in Syria over the weekend, utilizing fighter jets, attack helicopters, and heavy artillery attacks. Jordanian Armed Forces also participated in the attack and provided supportive fighter aircraft.
“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, in a statement. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region.”
CENTCOM also revealed that, after the Dec. 13 attack that resulted in the deaths of American troops, U.S. military forces conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq that yielded the death or detention of 23 terrorists.
“All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned — YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A.,” President Trump warned bad actors last week.
Secretary Hegseth echoed this warning in his statement, suggesting that anyone who targets Americans, no matter where they are in the world, will spend the rest of their “brief, anxious” lives waiting to be killed by the U.S. military.
“Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he promised.
