US attacks in Syria, 70 Isis targets hit: 5 dead
At least five Isis members, including a cell leader, were killed in US attacks overnight in eastern Syria. This was stated by the London-based Observatory for Human Rights. The cell 'was responsible for the use of drones in the area'
The US Central Command, Centcom, announced that it had struck more than 70 targets in attacks against Isis in Syria. "US forces struck more than 70 targets in several locations in central Syria with fighter aircraft, attack helicopters and artillery. The Jordanian Armed Forces also provided support with fighter jets," reads a post on X by Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom. "We will continue to relentlessly hunt down terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners in the region," it is stressed.
Trump: 'Retaliation very serious'
The US military launched Operation Hawkeye, striking over 70 Islamic State targets in Syria, in what President Donald Trump called a 'very serious retaliation' for the attack a week earlier in Palmyra, in which three American citizens were killed. According to Washington, the action had been carried out by a single Isis militant.
The US also informed Israel in advance of the raids, a Trump administration official told Axios. The US Central Command (Centcom) disclosed that the operation targeted multiple locations in central Syria and employed fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery, with over 100 precision munitions against the jihadist group's infrastructure and weapons depots. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the US is 'inflicting very serious retaliation, as promised, on murderous terrorists', warning that those who attack Americans 'will be hit harder than ever'.
The Palmyra attack
Damascus, without commenting directly on the raids, reiterated through the Foreign Ministry its commitment to fight the Islamic State and to prevent it from having 'safe havens' on Syrian territory. The victims of the Palmyra attack were two Iowa National Guard sergeants, William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and a civilian interpreter from Michigan, Ayad Mansoor Sakat. The raid marks the first episode of its kind since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and is part of a context in which, while scaling down its military presence in Syria, Washington continues to conduct operations against Isis, which is still active mainly in the desert areas of the country.
