Watch US military releases video of tomahawk missile launch on Syri!
The United States engaged a military strike Thursday on an airbase in Syria, multiple U.S. officials have confirmed, launching 59 missiles at an air base in the country.
The Pentagon said that the airstrike, which targeted Shayrat Air Base in
Homs Province -- where a chemical attack was initiated earlier in the
week -- struck multiple targets with tomahawk missiles launched between
8:40 and 8:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, from destroyers USS Porter and
USS Ross in the Mediterranean Sea.
President Donald Trump said the strike was in the "vital national security interest" of the U.S.
The governor of Homs province, Talal Barazi, told The Associated Press
that the attack left a number of dead and wounded, but he did not
disclose actual figures. As of early Friday morning, he said the
evacuation and transfer of casualties was ongoing.
ABC News
DoD/DigitalGlobe
On Tuesday, a chemical weapon attack on a Syrian town killed at least 86
civilians. Blame for the assault has landed on Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad despite the Syrian government's condemnation of the attack and
insistence that rebels fighting in the country's civil war were at
fault. The Turkish Health Ministry later determined that Sarin was used
in the attack, based upon autopsies of some of the victims.
A U.S. official said that radar spotted a Syrian military fixed-wing aircraft dropping chemical weapons
bombs earlier in the week and that airstrike appeared to intentionally
seek out an underground hospital operated by a rebel group.
"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 U.N. security council," Trump said Thursday
night. "Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all
failed and failed very dramatically."
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
After the airstrike, a Pentagon spokesman reported that missiles were
directed at "aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and
logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and
radars." A U.S. official said that Russia, which has personnel
stationed at the base, was notified of the airstrikes in advance. The
Pentagon noted that "extraordinary measures" were taken to prevent
Russian casualties.
About 30 minutes before the U.S. strikes were reported, Vladimir
Safronkov, Russia's deputy representative to the United Nations told
reporters in New York that Russia was receiving signals of an attack
being prepared and warned that people were not asking about possible
consequences, Interfax reported.
"For you journalists it’s not a secret, and for us working on the
diplomatic front, it’s not a secret that all these discussions in the
Security Council are leaking out against the background of real clamor
about preparations for a military operation," Safronkov said. "We are
also receiving direct signals on this theme that such a military
operation is being prepared.”
Safronkov continued, "Moreover, what surprises most of all is that now
is asking themselves the question about possible consequences."
Ford Williams/U.S. Navy
From his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where he is meeting with Chinese
President Xi Jinping, Trump called on allies to join the U.S. in ending
the violence in Syria.
"Tonight, I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end
the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all
kinds and all types," said Trump.
Earlier in the week, with video of victims being hosed down with water
as they writhed in pain made its way across the world, President Trump
denounced the act in strong terms while also placing some of the
culpability on his predecessor Barack Obama.
"These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence
of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution," Trump said in a
statement Tuesday. "President Obama said in 2012 that he would
establish a “red line” against the use of chemical weapons and then did
nothing."
Fadi Al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images
On Wednesday, the National Security Council
met to discuss the situation in Syria, but Trump had not yet made a
decision about military action, according to a U.S. official who added
that he would be presented with "an entire range" of options.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One Thursday en route to Florida,
Trump addressed the situation in response to questions of whether Assad
should remain in power.
"I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity," said Trump.
"He's there and I guess he’s running things, so something should
happen."
In Florida, awaiting the president's arrival, Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson said that the country is "considering an appropriate response
for [the] chemical weapons attack," and cast doubt on Assad's position
as the country's leader moving forward.
"Assad's role in the future is uncertain clearly and with the acts that
he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to
govern the Syrian people," said Tillerson. The comments were a reversal
from remarks Tillerson gave in Turkey last week when he said the U.S.
would not insist upon Assad's removal.
"The longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people," said Tillerson. Sen. Marco Rubio,
R-Fla. said after the chemical attack that he believed the expression
of Tillerson's stance could have been read by Assad "that it is no
longer a priority of the United States to have you removed from power,"
and granted the Syrian leader "an incentive to act with impunity."
The Syrian civil war started in 2011 as pro-democracy protests swept the country in the wake of the region's Arab Spring.
An attempted crackdown on protesters fueled groups fighting back
against the government and demonstrations turned violent. Eventually, a
group of rebels -- including Syrian military defectors -- organized to
fight the Assad regime.
Robert S. Price/U.S. Navy
The Syrian government is in control of a significant portion of the
country, but the situation has become increasingly complicated with the
emergence of ISIS
as the terrorist group moves into the country. The U.S. and a global
coalition against ISIS have previously launched strikes targeted against
the group and Al-Qaeda.
In March, 400 Marines and Army Rangers were sent to Syria to provide
support to U.S.-backed rebels fighting ISIS in the country. That group
brought the total number of American forces in Syria to 900, according
to U.S. officials.
Ref;http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-launches-military-strike-syria/story?id=46632349
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