Trump Orders Strikes Against Syrian Regime Airbase in Response to Chemical Attack

President Trump ordered a cruise missile strike against a Syrian regime military airbase, in response to a chemical weapons attack carried out by the regime earlier this week.

At 8:40 p.m. EDT, the U.S. launched 59 Tomahawk land attack missiles at the Shayrat Airfield located in the Homs Governorate in Western Syria, according to Pentagon officials. The strike lasted minutes.

“This was in response to the Syrian chemical weapons attack April 4th in Khan Sheikhoun… That attack killed and injured hundreds of innocent Syrian people, including women and children,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.

“The strikes were intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again,” he said.

The missiles were launched from U.S. destroyers USS Porter and Ross, which were in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea at the time, he said.

The missiles hit aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage areas, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars, he said.

Davis said the U.S. military took care to avoid any human casualties. It notified Russia – and “many countries” – of the planned strikes ahead of time. There were Russian troops at the airbase, although it’ is not clear if they were still there during the strikes.

Davis said the U.S. struck an area where Russian and Syrian troops were not located.

“In this case in particular, every precaution was taken to execute these strikes with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield,” Davis said.

The strike was aimed at deterring another chemical weapons attack by the regime.

The airbase was the same one the regime used to carry out the chemical weapons attack, Davis said. The U.S. military said it tracked the two aircraft that the regime used to conduct the attacks.