Key Takeaways
- The Trump administration has launched military strikes in Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter.
- The strike hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.
- The U.S. has shifted significant resources away from the Middle East to focus on goals in the Western Hemisphere, including targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and seizing sanctioned oil tankers.
- The attack was a major test for the warming ties between the United States and Syria since the ouster of autocratic leader Bashar Assad a year ago.
- The U.S. has employed more than 100 precision munitions on Syrian targets, using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Introduction to the Conflict
The Trump administration launched military strikes in Syria on Friday, targeting Islamic State group fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter. The strike, which was described as "large-scale" by a U.S. official, hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons. This move comes as the Trump administration has said it’s looking to focus closer to home in the Western Hemisphere, building up an armada in the Caribbean Sea and targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and vowing to keep seizing sanctioned oil tankers as part of a pressure campaign on Venezuela’s leader.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
The attack that prompted the U.S. retaliation occurred last Saturday, when a gunman opened fire on a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials who were having lunch together. The gunman, who had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months ago, was killed in the attack. The assailant had recently been reassigned due to suspicions that he might be affiliated with IS. The shooting near Palmyra also wounded three other U.S. troops as well as members of Syria’s security forces. The U.S. troops who were killed were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Macomb, Michigan, a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter, also was killed.
The U.S. Response
President Donald Trump pledged "very serious retaliation" after the shooting in the Syrian desert, for which he blamed IS. During a speech in North Carolina on Friday evening, the president hailed the operation as a "massive strike" that took out the "ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup." Earlier, in his social media post, he reiterated his backing for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who Trump said was "fully in support" of the U.S. effort. Trump also offered an all-caps threat, warning IS against attacking American personnel again. The attack was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters, the U.S. officials said. F-16 fighter jets from Jordan and HIMARS rocket artillery also were used, one official added.
Syria’s Response
The attack was a major test for the warming ties between the United States and Syria since the ouster of autocratic leader Bashar Assad a year ago. Trump has stressed that Syria was fighting alongside U.S. troops and said al-Sharaa was "extremely angry and disturbed by this attack," which came as the U.S. military is expanding its cooperation with Syrian security forces. Syria’s foreign ministry in a statement said that last week’s attack "underscores the urgent necessity of strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms" and that Syria is committed "to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat." Syrian state television reported that the U.S. strikes hit targets in rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces and in the Jabal al-Amour area near the historic city of Palmyra.
The Broader Implications
The new military operation in Syria comes as the Trump administration has said it’s looking to focus closer to home in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. has shifted significant resources away from the Middle East to further those goals, including building up an armada in the Caribbean Sea and targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and vowing to keep seizing sanctioned oil tankers as part of a pressure campaign on Venezuela’s leader. The U.S. officials said that more strikes should be expected, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media that "this is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people." The U.S. has employed more than 100 precision munitions on Syrian targets, using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
