US strikes ISIS targets in Syria after 2 soldiers and interpreter killed last week

The United States is carrying out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for the attack that killed two American soldiers and an American interpreter on Saturday, officials said. Multiple sources told News themezone early Friday that the strikes were taking place.

One of the officials said the United States began striking dozens of targets in multiple locations in central Syria using fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery. More than 70 targets were hit, a US official said.

F-15 fighter jets, A-10 Thunderbolts, known as “Warthogs,” and Apache attack helicopters were used Friday to attack ISIS positions in Syria, U.S. officials told News themezone. Jordanian F-16 fighter jets also participated in the operation.

US Central Command described the operation as a “massive strike” and indicated it was retaliation at a post in X. At a follow-up post, US Central Command said it used “more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.”

President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth attended the decent transfer at Dover Air Force Base earlier this week for the two soldiers killed, Sgt. William Howard and Sgt. Edgar Torres Tovar, both of the Iowa National Guard, and the interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat.

The three individuals were killed when, according to the Pentagon, a lone ISIS gunman ambushed them while they were supporting a key leader in Palmyra, Syria. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack.

Trump promised “very serious retaliation” in a TruthSocial post after the attack, and Hegseth also vowed to “avenge these fallen Americans with overwhelming force.”

Hegseth announced in a Friday post on

“Today we hunt and kill our enemies,” Hegseth continued. “A lot of them. And we will continue.”

Speaking Friday night during remarks in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Trump said he “ordered a massive attack on the terrorists who killed our three great patriots last week.” The attacks were “very successful” and “we reached all the sites without problems,” the president said.

After the operation began, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement: “President Trump told the world that the United States would retaliate for the murder of our heroes at the hands of ISIS in Syria, and he is keeping that promise.”

U.S. Central Command said Friday that since the attack on U.S. soldiers last weekend, it has conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq that have resulted in the deaths or arrests of “23 terrorist operatives.”