Tonight the United States issued out their response to Bashar al-Assad once again gassing his own people earlier on in the week.
Between 8 and 9 PM ET, Donald Trump authorized an air strike against Syrian regime forces from two battleships in the eastern Mediterranean. That strike consisted of roughly 50-60 tomahawk missiles that focused on airfields, notably the Shayrat Airfield which is suspected to be the main staging point of that gas attack earlier in the week. Via CNN:
On President Donald Trump’s orders, US warships launched at least 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian government airbase where the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks were based, US officials said.
The strikes are the first direct military action the US has taken against the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s six-year civil war and represent a substantial escalation of the US’ military campaign in the region, which could be interpreted by the Syrian government as an act of war. The US began launching airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 under President Barack Obama as part of its coalition campaign against ISIS, but has only targeted the terrorist group and not Syrian government forces.
According to further reports, the missiles were programed to hit airplanes, runways and refueling equipment.
At this point it’s unclear if Trump will authorize further strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime however you have to wonder what could be next and what the response from Russia will be who is a known supporter of al-Assad.
UPDATE: Reports say that Trump talked with a ‘broad list’ of nations to get their support on the attack. Russia was notified as well prior to the strike despite earlier reports that they weren’t.
UPDATE: Russians were reportedly at the Shayrat Airbase in Syria. It’s unclear if any Russians were killed or injured during the strikes.
