The United States on Friday carried out a large-scale series of airstrikes against more than 70 Islamic State (IS) targets across Syria, in retaliation for an attack last week that killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter, US officials said.

The strikes were aimed at Islamic State infrastructure and weapons sites, not the Syrian state, according to the US military. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American operations in the Middle East, said US forces had “commenced a large-scale strike against ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria.”

Syrian state television reported that the strikes hit targets in rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, as well as the Jabal al-Amour region near Palmyra. According to the report, the sites included weapons depots and command centers used by IS to launch operations in the region.

A Pentagon official told the Associated Press that the operation involved F-15 Eagle fighter jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground-attack aircraft, and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation, named Operation Hawkeye Strike, was launched in direct response to the December 13 attack on US forces in Palmyra. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least five Islamic State operatives were killed in the strikes.

Later on Saturday, Jordan’s military announced that it had participated in the operation, saying the strikes were intended to prevent extremist groups from using Syrian territory as a base to threaten neighboring countries.

The airstrikes followed an attack on December 13 in the Syrian desert, during which two members of the Iowa National Guard and a civilian interpreter were killed. The US Army identified the soldiers as Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. The interpreter was Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 35, of Macomb, Michigan.

US officials said the attack occurred when a Syrian security guard opened fire during a meeting involving US and Syrian security personnel. The Trump administration has blamed the attack on the Islamic State group.

President Donald Trump pledged “very serious retaliation” shortly after the incident, emphasizing that the response would target IS and not the Syrian government. Trump said Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed” by the attack.

On Friday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement reaffirming Damascus’s commitment to combating Islamic State, saying there would be “no safe havens on Syrian territory” for the group. The ministry said Syria would intensify its military operations against IS following the US strikes.

Trump said the United States was “striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria,” adding that the country could have “a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.”

Earlier this week, Trump met privately with the families of the fallen Americans at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Although Islamic State lost control of its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2019, the group remains active and continues to carry out attacks in both countries.

Syria, still recovering from a 14-year civil war, has sought to restore ties with the international community under President al-Sharaa, who came to power after the removal of Bashar al-Assad last year. His government has said it opposes terrorism and has cooperated with a US-led coalition against IS.

Approximately 1,000 US troops remain stationed in Syria as part of ongoing efforts to prevent a resurgence of the militant group.