The U.S. military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State group targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an attack on American personnel, U.S. officials ?said.

A U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes and ground operations in ?Syria targeting ?Islamic State (IS) suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of ?Syria¡¯s security forces.

President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after a suspected IS attack killed U.S. personnel last weekend in Syria.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, using another name for the terrorist group, said the strikes targeted ¡°ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites¡± and that the operation was ¡°OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE.¡±

¡°This is not the beginning ?of a war ¡ª it is a declaration of vengeance,¡± Hegseth said. ¡°Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,¡± he added.

Trump said ?on social media that the Syrian government fully supported the strikes and that the U.S. was inflicting ¡°very serious retaliation.¡±

U.S. Central Command ?said the strikes ?hit more than 70 targets across central Syria, adding that ?Jordanian fighter jets supported the operation.

One U.S. official said the strikes were ?carried ?out by U.S. F-15 and A-10 jets, along with Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems.

Syria reiterated its steadfast commitment to fighting Islamic State group and ensuring that it has ¡°no safe havens on Syrian territory,¡± according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the U.S. military. Three other U.S. soldiers were ?also ?wounded in the attack.

About 1,000 U.S. troops remain in Syria.

The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security ?forces suspected of sympathizing with IS.

Syria¡¯s government is led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, and includes members of Syria¡¯s former al-Qaida branch who broke with the group ?and clashed with IS.

Syria has been cooperating with a U.S.-led coalition against IS, reaching an agreement last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.