{"id":137088,"date":"2025-12-20T04:50:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=137088"},"modified":"2025-12-20T04:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:50:08","slug":"us-military-launches-strikes-in-syria-targeting-islamic-state-fighters-after-american-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=137088","title":{"rendered":"US military launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/AP\">AP<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">New York &#8211; AP &#8211; News &#8211; Yahoo<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"-mx-4 mb-5 max-w-[750px] md:mx-0\">\n<div class=\"mx-4 md:mx-0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<h2 class=\"text-base font-bold text-primary\">US military launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths<\/h2>\n<div class=\"whitespace-nowrap text-sm\"><span class=\"ml-1 font-normal text-primary\"><span class=\"font-bold text-hulk-pants dark:text-thanos\">1<\/span> of 2<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative text-sm line-clamp-2 pr-2.5 text-tertiary\">\n<div>\n<div>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salutes during a casualty return for Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, who were killed in Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/div>\n<p>(ASSOCIATED PRESS)<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><button class=\"rapid-noclick-resp text-sm text-scooter bg-primary dark:text-[color:var(--fg-link)] ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']\" data-ylk=\"elm:loadmore;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:more;\" data-rapid_p=\"7\" data-v9y=\"1\">More<\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"max-w-screen-sm mx-auto\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration launched military strikes Friday in Syria to \u201celiminate\u201d Islamic State group fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/syria-us-military-attack-palmyra-is-22f67e54c1a15fcc643de2672b83aacb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"33\" data-v9y=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">ambush<\/span> attack that killed two U.S. troops<\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> and an American<\/span> civilian interpreter almost a week ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">A U.S. official described it as \u201ca large-scale\u201d strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons. Another U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said more strikes should be expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cThis is not the beginning of a war \u2014 it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump\u2019s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,\u201d Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">The new military operation in Syria comes even as the Trump administration has said it\u2019s looking to <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-security-strategy-europe-russia-america-first-068488ca7e6d1c92ccaddd1649958218\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:focus closer to home in the Western Hemisphere;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"15\" data-v9y=\"1\">f<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">ocus closer to home in the Western Hemisphere<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">,<\/span> building up an <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-military-warships-troops-venezuela-caribbean-f0cea0fbfcd991066b2489460f685001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:armada in the Caribbean Sea;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"16\" data-v9y=\"1\">armada in the Caribbean Sea<\/a> as it targets <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-maduro-venezuela-drug-cartels-military-timeline-91e242e5c56eec39b6b7d72bf55dbd2d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:alleged drug-smuggling boats;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"17\" data-v9y=\"1\">alleged drug-smuggling boats<\/a> and vowing to keep <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-venezuela-maduro-oil-tankers-625a7c9a3106e316c97ceb68a42a1cb5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:seizing sanctioned oil tankers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"18\" data-v9y=\"1\">seizing sanctioned oil tankers<\/a> as part of a pressure campaign on Venezuela\u2019s leader. The U.S. has shifted significant <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/aircraft-carriers-trump-venezuela-middle-east-a458b9c4f1a5690e19d7c532dd6b7fd7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:resources away from the Middle East;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"19\" data-v9y=\"1\">resources away from <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">the Middle East<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> to further those goals: Its most <\/span>advanced <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/aircraft-carrier-venezuela-trump-ford-strikes-drugs-241ea9e039d717b9f80f793922cb7cc9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:aircraft carrier arrived;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"20\" data-v9y=\"1\">aircraft carrier arrived<\/a> in South American waters last month from the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Trump vowed retaliation<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">President Donald Trump pledged \u201cvery serious retaliation\u201d after the shooting in the Syrian desert, for which he blamed IS. Those killed were among hundreds of <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-syria-troops-islamic-state-kurds-3354f71e88d278427994d209b2d16d9c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:U.S. troops deployed in eastern Syria;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"21\" data-v9y=\"1\">U.S. troops deployed in eastern Syria<\/a> as part of a <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/syria-coalition-islamic-state-79ceed4666aef43465221734fca899d5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:coalition fighting the militant group;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"22\" data-v9y=\"1\">coalition fighting the militant group<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Trump in a social media post said the strikes were targeting IS \u201cstrongholds.\u201d He reiterated his <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-syria-sharaa-first-visit-cf01c5d6c9af7e47ec0bae585634d845\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:backing for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"23\" data-v9y=\"1\">backing for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa<\/a>, who Trump said was \u201cfully in support\u201d of the U.S. effort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">rump also offered an all-caps threat, warning IS against attacking American personnel again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cAll terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned \u2014 YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A.,\u201d the president added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\" style=\"text-align: left;\">U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region, said in a social media post that American jets, helicopters and artillery employed more than 100 precision munitions on Syrian targets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AP New York &#8211; AP &#8211; News &#8211; Yahoo US military launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths 1 of 2 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salutes during a casualty return for Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":137089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/137089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}