Trump Announces 'Very Heavy Retaliation' Against ISIS in Syria

Washington (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump declared on Friday that the Islamic State group was targeted by "very heavy retaliation" in Syria, following an attack nearly a week ago that killed two American soldiers and an interpreter.

"We are hitting ISIS strongholds very hard," the American president wrote on Truth Social, shortly after the Pentagon announced the start of a "massive" operation.

The U.S. military has launched an operation in Syria to "eliminate fighters of the Islamic State group, infrastructure, and weapons sites," Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced on X.

This is a "direct response" and a "declaration of vengeance" following the attack that killed two American soldiers and a translator in Syria on Saturday, he added, stating: "Today we hunted down and killed enemies. Many enemies. And we will continue."

The U.S. military command for the Middle East, Centcom, specified that fighter jets and helicopters participated in the strikes, accompanied by an illustrative video.

Strikes were carried out in the desert near the city of Homs and in rural areas near Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, a Syrian security source told AFP.

Explosions were followed by "medium-caliber gunfire in the desert" southwest of Raqqa, a provincial official said, adding that these are areas under Syrian government control.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry reiterated its strong commitment to fighting ISIS and ensuring it finds no refuge on Syrian territory, it said in a statement published on X shortly after the U.S. strikes, without directly mentioning them.

First Time

The man who killed three Americans in the desert region of Palmyra has been identified as a member of the Syrian security forces.

This is the first time such an event has been reported in Syria since the rise to power, a year ago, of an Islamist coalition that has moved closer to the United States.

The jihadist group Islamic State had controlled the Palmyra region before being defeated in Syria by an international coalition in 2019.

Despite its defeat, its fighters, retreating into the vast Syrian desert, continue to carry out occasional attacks.

During the visit of the Syrian interim president, Ahmad al-Chareh, to Washington last month, Damascus joined the U.S.-led international anti-jihadist coalition.

U.S. forces in Syria are notably deployed in Kurdish-controlled areas in the north, as well as at the Al-Tanf base near the Jordanian border.

The return to power of Donald Trump, generally skeptical about deploying American soldiers abroad, raises questions about the continuation of this military presence.

The Pentagon announced in April that the United States would reduce the number of American soldiers in Syria by half, though the current total number is not officially known.