The Shayrat air base in central Syria's Homs province was hit by at least 59 US Tomahawk missiles on Thursday night.?
AFP
The surprise US move was in retaliation to the deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians in rebel-held Idlib earlier this week. US believe that it was from the Shayrat air base that the Syrian Army launched the gas attack on its own people.
AFP/ File
The Tomahawk missiles fired from warships in the Mediterranean Sea hit at 8:45 p.m. in Washington, 3:45 a.m. Friday morning in Syria. The missiles targeted the base's airstrips, hangars, control tower and ammunition areas, officials said.
Confirming the strike, US President Donald Trump said,
"Assad choked out the lives of innocent men, women and children.''
Reuters
Thursday's strike came just a day after US President Trump, to many observers reversed his position on Assad.?
AFP
Just days before the chemical attack in Idlib, the US administration had said that removing Assad from power was not the country's priority. But after the chemical attack which killed over 80 people including 20 children, Trump had changed his stands and had warned of retaliation.
Syrian state TV reported a U.S. missile attack on a number of military targets and called the attack an act of ?"aggression.''
AFP
Before the strikes, US military officials said they informed their Russian counterparts of the impending attack. The goal was to avoid any accident involving Russian forces.
Nevertheless, Russia's Deputy UN ambassador Vladimir Safronov warned that any negative consequences from the strikes would be on the "shoulders of those who initiated such a doubtful and tragic enterprise.''