US launches missile strikes against Syria

The US has carried out a missile attack against an air base in Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town.

The Pentagon said 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at 04:40 Syrian time (01:40 GMT) from destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean.

In a televised address, President Donald Trump said the base was the launch point for the chemical attack.
He called on "all civilised nations" to help end the conflict in Syria.

Dozens of civilians, including many children, died in the suspected nerve gas attack on Tuesday in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province.

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, President Trump branded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "dictator" who had "launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians".

"Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end this slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types," he said.

"We hope that as long as America stands for justice, then peace and harmony will in the end prevail."

The Pentagon said Russia, which is supporting the Syrian military, had been informed ahead of the US attack.

It said missiles fired from Navy destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross had targeted aircraft, aircraft shelters, storage areas, ammunition supply bunkers, air defence systems, and radars at the Shayrat airfield.

The statement added that the strike was intended "to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again".

Source: BBC