International
US retaliates, fires 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on Syrian airbase
The United States has gotten itself directly involved in the ongoing civil war in Syria.
In retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib which killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, the United States fired fifty-nine cruise missiles at a government-controlled airbase in Syria.
Pentagon said 59 Tomahawk missiles hit the Shayrat airfield in Homs province,
at 3:45am on Friday morning, from where they believe the Syrian jets that dropped the chemicals on a rebel-held town in Idlib province had taken off.
Moments after the airstrike, Syrian state TV reported the US missile attack on a number of military targets, calling it an “act of aggression”, while Homs Governor Talal Barazi said the US strike will not affect the Syrian government or its ability to fight “terrorists”.
Read also: Wife of Pulse nightclub shooter returns to Florida to face federal charges
US President Donald Trump said the airstrikes were in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that killed scores of civilians in Syria.
“There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council,” Trump said.
It was the first direct military action the US has taken against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the six-year war.
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