WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) — The USS Harry S. Truman conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday.
A senior defense official told Fox News that F/A-18 Hornet combat jets deployed from the U.S. Navy carrier, flying over Turkey and conducting airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria.
The strike marks the first launched by the United States from the Mediterranean since Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, as Naval air strikes have typically been launched from carriers in the Persian Gulf.
“This is showing the U.S. Navy can conduct flight operations [against ISIS] from other locations, not just the [Persian] Gulf,” the official told Fox News of the air strikes.
Neither Russian nor Syrian officials were notified in advance of the strikes. The Truman and the rest of the fleet traveled through the Suez canal on Thursday.
The USS Truman is set to be relieved by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower next month, but its deployment was extended as it completed the strike, according to U.S. European Command.
“While the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is in the 6th Fleet area of operations, they continue to project power ashore against terrorists and violent extremists,” Vice Adm. James Foggo III, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, said in a statement. “This exemplifies our Navy’s mobility, flexibility and adaptability, as well as our commitment to execute a full range of military operations in concert with our indispensable European allies and partners.”
