A declaration of vengeance, not the beginning of war
Twelve days after two Iowa National Guard soldiers were killed in Palmyra, Syria, the United States launched 'Operation Hawkeye' — striking roughly 70 targets across the country in what officials called a focused act of retaliation against ISIS. The operation, joined by partner nations including Jordan, drew on intelligence gathered through ten preceding missions and was framed by the administration as a declaration of resolve rather than the opening of a wider war. Yet beneath the certainty of the military response lies a more unsettled truth: the attacker's direct ties to ISIS remain unconfirmed, and the organization itself has not claimed responsibility, leaving the full meaning of this retaliation still to be written.
- Two young sergeants — Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and William Nathaniel Howard, 29 — were killed on December 13 in Palmyra, sending grief through Iowa and urgency through the Pentagon.
- The Trump administration moved swiftly and publicly, with the President announcing 'very serious retaliation' on social media and the Defense Secretary calling the operation a 'declaration of vengeance.'
- Ten preliminary operations following the attack killed or detained around 23 people and generated the electronic intelligence that shaped the targeting of all 70 sites struck on Friday.
- Jordan joined the coalition strikes, citing ISIS's growing reconstitution in southern Syria as a direct threat to regional neighbors — signaling that the concern extends well beyond American personnel alone.
- The operation's moral and strategic footing is complicated by the fact that ISIS has not claimed the December 13 attack, and both US and Syrian officials acknowledge the gunman's affiliation remains unclear.
On a Friday in December, the United States military struck approximately 70 targets across Syria in retaliation for an attack twelve days earlier that killed two American soldiers. The operation was named 'Operation Hawkeye' — a deliberate nod to Iowa, the home state of the fallen. The targets included ISIS-linked infrastructure and weapons storage sites identified through a sustained intelligence effort.
The two soldiers lost on December 13 were Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown — both members of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. They died engaging hostile forces near Palmyra. Three fellow Guard members were wounded in the same attack. Iowa's Adjutant General Stephen Osborne pledged the organization's full support to the families of the fallen and wounded.
President Trump announced the strikes publicly, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed them not as the beginning of a broader conflict but as a concentrated act of protection and accountability. Jordan confirmed its participation, with Jordanian officials pointing to ISIS's rebuilding of capabilities in southern Syria as a threat to the entire region.
The intelligence behind Operation Hawkeye came from ten prior missions conducted in the days following December 13, which led to the death or detention of roughly 23 individuals and produced targeting data for the larger campaign. The goal was to meaningfully degrade whatever ISIS remnants remain capable of threatening American forces.
Still, the picture is not entirely clear. Syrian officials told CNN the attacker had been part of Syria's own Internal Security service, and neither US nor Syrian authorities could firmly establish his ISIS affiliation. The organization itself claimed no responsibility. Approximately 1,800 Iowa National Guard soldiers are currently deployed to the Middle East under Operation Inherent Resolve, the decade-long counter-ISIS mission — and the strikes of Friday represent the sharpest escalation yet, even as the questions surrounding the original attack remain open.
On Friday, the United States military struck approximately 70 targets across Syria in a direct response to an attack that killed two American soldiers twelve days earlier. The operation, christened "Operation Hawkeye" as a deliberate reference to Iowa's nickname, targeted infrastructure and weapons storage sites the military attributed to ISIS. Two officials confirmed the scope and nature of the strikes to CNN.
The two soldiers killed in the December 13 attack were Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Both belonged to the Iowa National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division. They died while engaging hostile forces in Palmyra, Syria. Three additional Iowa National Guard members were wounded in the same attack and evacuated for medical care. The loss reverberated through the Iowa National Guard, with Adjutant General Stephen Osborne issuing a statement emphasizing the organization's commitment to supporting the families of the fallen and wounded.
President Trump announced the strikes on Truth Social, stating that the United States was "inflicting very serious retaliation" against those responsible for the deaths. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth characterized the operation as "a declaration of vengeance," emphasizing that it represented not the start of a broader conflict but rather a focused response to protect American personnel. The strikes drew participation from partner nations, including Jordan, which confirmed its involvement on Saturday. Jordanian officials cited the need to counter ISIS's reconstitution and rebuilding of capabilities in southern Syria, particularly given the threat to neighboring countries' security.
The intelligence foundation for Operation Hawkeye came from ten preceding operations conducted by US and partner forces following the December 13 attack. Those operations resulted in the death or detention of approximately 23 people and yielded electronic intelligence that informed the targeting decisions for the larger strike campaign. The stated objective was to deliver a substantial blow to ISIS remnants in Syria and degrade their capacity to threaten American forces in the region.
Yet the picture remains complicated. Syria's Ministry of Interior Affairs told CNN that the attacker had been part of Syria's Internal Security service, and both US and Syrian officials acknowledged to CNN that the gunman's connection to ISIS was not entirely clear. ISIS itself has not claimed responsibility for the December 13 attack, despite the Trump administration's framing of the strikes as retaliation against the organization. Trump noted that Syria's government, under its current leadership, was fully supportive of the operation and working to restore the country's future by eliminating ISIS.
Approximately 1,800 Iowa National Guard soldiers began deploying to the Middle East earlier in 2025 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the broader US mission to counter ISIS that began when the organization rapidly seized large portions of Syria and Iraq in the mid-2010s. Hundreds of American troops remain stationed in Syria as part of this longstanding effort. The strikes on Friday represent the most visible escalation in response to the December 13 deaths, though questions about the attacker's true affiliation and motivations persist even as the military campaign moves forward.
Citas Notables
The United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible— President Donald Trump, on Truth Social
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— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why name it Operation Hawkeye specifically? That seems like more than just geography.
It's a signal. When you name a military operation after the state where the soldiers came from, you're saying their home matters, their loss is personal to America. It's also a way of saying this response is proportional and focused—not a sprawling campaign, but a direct answer to a specific wound.
But the source says ISIS hasn't claimed responsibility for the attack. So who exactly were we hitting?
That's the tension at the heart of this. The military tied the targets to ISIS infrastructure and capabilities. But the attacker's actual affiliation is murky. He may have been part of Syria's security apparatus. The strikes are framed as anti-ISIS, but they're also a show of force—a way of saying we will respond to any attack on our people, regardless of the exact chain of command.
What does 70 targets actually mean? Are we talking buildings, weapons caches, people?
The reporting specifies infrastructure and weapons storage sites. So physical locations, not just personnel. The intelligence came from ten smaller operations that had already killed or detained about 23 people and gathered electronics. Those materials helped the military decide what to hit in the larger strike.
Jordan participated. Why would they care about this specific attack?
Because ISIS has been rebuilding in southern Syria, and that directly threatens Jordan's border security. When the US strikes, it's not just about defending American troops—it's about regional stability. Jordan's involvement signals that this isn't just an American operation; it's a coalition response to a shared threat.
The soldiers were from the Iowa National Guard. Does that change how we should think about this?
It makes it personal in a way that distant military operations often aren't. These weren't career soldiers deployed to a forward base for years. They were National Guard—part-time soldiers from Iowa who were called up for Operation Inherent Resolve. Their deaths hit home in a literal sense, and the naming of the operation acknowledges that.