US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced the start of an operation to “eliminate Isis fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” in Syria following the deaths of three US citizens.
“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,” he said on social media.
Two Iowa National Guard members and a US civilian interpreter were killed on December 13 in an attack in the Syrian desert that the Trump administration has blamed on the Islamic State group.
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The slain National Guard members were among hundreds of US troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.
Soon after word of the deaths, President Donald Trump pledged “very serious retaliation” but stressed that Syria was fighting alongside US troops.
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Trump has said Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack”, and the shooting attack by a gunman came as the US military was expanding its cooperation with Syrian security forces.
