Washington, 20 December (H.S.): United States military forces unleashed Operation Hawkeye Strike on Friday, pummeling dozens of Islamic State strongholds across central Syria with precision airstrikes targeting fighters, infrastructure, and weapons depots, in swift retribution for the ambush that claimed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter last weekend.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the operation's devastating impact, asserting, This is not the beginning of a war—it is a declaration of vengeance. Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue, as anonymous U.S. officials detailed strikes on over 70 sites amid President Donald Trump's prior vow of severe retaliation.

The precipitating assault occurred Saturday in Palmyra, where a gunman—later identified by Syria's Interior Ministry as a security forces sympathizer neutralized on-site—ambushed a joint U.S.-Syrian convoy, killing two Army soldiers from the Iowa National Guard's Al Tanf Garrison and wounding three others.

With approximately 1,000 U.S. troops stationed in Syria, this escalation bolsters a U.S.-led coalition's ongoing campaign, now augmented by cooperation from President Ahmed al-Sharaa's post-Assad government—formed after rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad following a 13-year civil war and incorporating ex-Al Qaeda elements hostile to ISIS.

Sharaa's White House visit last month sealed Syria's 90th membership in the anti-ISIS pact, enabling intelligence fusion that facilitated Friday's decisive blows.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar