WASHINGTON – An attack in Syria claimed lives of two American soldiers from Iowa, sparking fierce US response that lit up the skies with precision strikes on ISIS targets.
United States unleashed series of large-scale airstrikes on ISIS targets across Syria over weekend, as part of ongoing retaliation campaign Operation Hawkeye Strike. The operation comes in direct response to deadly ISIS attack that claimed the lives of two American soldiers from Iowa earlier this month.
According to US Central Command, the strikes involved coordinated efforts with partner forces, hitting more than 35 ISIS positions with over 90 precision-guided munitions deployed from more than two dozen aircraft. CENTCOM stressed that the operation sends unmistakable message, those who target US forces will be hunted down and held accountable, no matter where they hide.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that its forces conducted "large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria" as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, a retaliatory campaign following the killing US forces by the group in Palmyra on December 13 -… pic.twitter.com/TKUTLDlyRC
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Operation Hawkeye Strike was launched on December 19, six days after the attack in Palmyra that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Both were members of the Iowa National Guard, which had deployed around 1,800 troops to the Middle East this year under Operation Inherent Resolve. Three additional Iowa Guardsmen were wounded in the attack, which also claimed the life of a civilian interpreter.
An American official termed Saturday’s strikes as “crippling blow” to Daesh remnants in Syria, targeting their ability to threaten American forces in region. The operation underscores ongoing US commitment to rooting out the extremist group, which once controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq during the mid-2010s.
ISIS largely lost its territory, US and partner operations continue to dismantle the group’s remaining capabilities. Hundreds of American troops remain stationed in Syria as part of the long-term fight against ISIS, with Operation Hawkeye Strike demonstrating the Pentagon’s readiness to respond swiftly and decisively to any attack on US personnel.
