U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday, April 6, that he ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airfield.
This target airfield is the same one from which deadly chemical weapons were launched on April 4.
Trump said he was acting in America’s “national security interest” against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The airfield is controlled by Assad’s forces in a rebel-held area.
59 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. Navy warships, the USS Porter and USS Ross, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Missiles hit multiple targets – including the airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations – on the Shayrat Air Base.
The strikes were conducted at 8:45 p.m. EDT (0045 GMT on Friday).
Damage estimates were not immediately known.
Syrian state TV said that “American aggression” had targeted a Syrian military base with “a number of missiles.”
A Syrian military source said the strike had “led to losses.”
