U.S. fires at least 50 missiles at Syrian airfield in response to chemical attack

The U.S. military launched a volley of cruise missile strikes in Syria on Thursday in retaliation for the country’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against its own citizens, U.S. officials said.

It was the first direct assault on the Syrian government taken by the U.S. since civil war broke out in the Middle East nation in 2011.

It was also Donald Trump’s most dramatic military order since becoming President.

Trump, speaking in response to disturbing photos of children killed in the chemical attack, calling it a “disgrace to humanity” that crossed “a lot of lines.”

'Steps underway' to remove Assad, military action possible: W.H.

At least 50 Tomahawk missiles were fired at the Ash Sha’irat airfield in the Homs province in western Syria, officials told NBC News.

The cruise missiles, fired from warships in the Mediterranean Sea, targeted the base where American officials believe Syrian government aircraft launched with a nerve agent, possibly sarin, earlier in the week.

Earlier, Trump said that “something should happen” in response to a deadly poison gas attack in the country that killed at least 100 people.

Assad’s government came under mounting international pressure Thursday following the chemical attack, with even key ally Russia saying its support is not unconditional.

GOP defense hawks urge Trump to take out Syria's air force

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the poison gas attack that the U.S. attributed to the Russia-backed Syrian government, a senior State Department official says.

Read More (...)