Beirut: US forces fired a barrage of cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase Friday in response to what President Donald Trump called a “barbaric” chemical attack he blamed on the Damascus regime.
The massive strike — the first direct US action against President Bashar al-Assad’s government and Mr Trump’s biggest military decision — marked a dramatic escalation in American involvement in Syria’s six-year civil war.
US said 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired.
Syria’s regime denounced the strike as a “flagrant aggression” and state news agency said nine civilians including four children were killed.
Mr Assad’s office called the attack “foolish and irresponsible.” “What America did is nothing but foolish and irresponsible behaviour, which only reveals its short-sightedness and political and military blindness to reality.”
The attack was denounced by Iran and Russia, with Moscow warning that it would inflict “considerable damage” on US-Russia ties and halting an agreement with Washington aimed at avoiding clashes in Syrian airspace.
The UN Security Council met in an emergency session on Friday to discuss the US action.
