President Donald Trump ordered “very serious retaliation” as US jets and attack helicopters struck ISIS positions across eastern Syria.
BY PC Bureau
December 20, 2025: The United States on Friday (local time) launched Operation Hawkeye Strike, carrying out targeted airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) positions in Syria in retaliation for the killing of American personnel earlier this month.
US President Donald Trump described the action as a “very serious retaliation” against the “murderous terrorists responsible” for the attack that claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter on December 13.
“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria — whose beautiful souls I welcomed home earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony — I am announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He added that US forces were striking ISIS strongholds across Syria, warning terror groups against targeting Americans. “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 USA,” Trump said.
BREAKING ⚡️
US strikes back like India responded to the Pahalgam terror attack.
~70 airstrikes on ISIS targets across Syria after Palmyra attack killed 2 US soldiers & a civilian contractor.
Fighter jets, attack helos & artillery in Ops Hawkeye Strike. pic.twitter.com/OYirMtI7oY
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) December 20, 2025
The President also claimed that the Syrian government was fully supportive of the operation, praising Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa for working to restore stability in the war-torn country. Trump said Syria had the potential for a “bright future” if ISIS was eradicated.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth characterised the strikes as a calculated response rather than the start of a broader conflict. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” he said in a social media post, adding that the United States would never hesitate to defend its people.
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According to a US official cited by the Associated Press, the operation involved F-15 Eagle fighter jets, A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters, targeting ISIS hideouts in the Syrian desert.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the President was fulfilling a promise made after the deadly ambush. “President Trump told the world that the United States would retaliate for the killing of our heroes by ISIS in Syria, and he is delivering on that promise,” she said.
The December 13 attack killed two members of the Iowa National Guard and a US civilian interpreter during a patrol in eastern Syria. The Trump administration directly blamed ISIS for the assault.
Following the incident, Trump said Syrian forces were operating alongside US troops and that President al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed” by the killings, which occurred amid increased coordination between American and Syrian security forces.
The fallen Guardsmen were part of a larger deployment of hundreds of US troops stationed in eastern Syria as part of an international coalition mission aimed at preventing the resurgence of the Islamic State.
