Just days after a chemical attack killed over 100 people, including dozens of children, in Syria, President Trump has decided to respond by launching United States missiles at the war-torn country on Thursday night.
59 Tomahawk missiles were fired from two U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea which are being aimed at Ash Sha’irat in Homs province in western Syria. This is the airfield where the U.S. believes the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired the banned chemical weapons.
According to U.S. officials that spoke to NBC News, people were not targeted and infrastructure, runway and fuel pumps at the site were hit.
A statement from the Pentagon regarding the airstrike said, “We are assessing the results of the strike. Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing the Syrian Government’s ability to deliver chemical weapons.”
The Pentagon says precautions were taken to avoid casualties.
President Trump addressed the nation on television saying the missile launches on Syria are a “vital national security interest” of the United States.
“Assad choked out the lives of innocent men, women and children,”
said Trump.
Speaking on the chemical weapons in Syria, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the press Russia has “failed to deliver” on preventing those types of attacks in Syria.
