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U.S. Launches Missiles at Syrian Airbase after Chemical Weapons Attack

(Washington Post) Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan and Thomas Gibbons-Neff - The U.S. military launched 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield on Thursday in a direct American assault on the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The Trump administration authorized the operation in retaliation for a chemical attack killing scores of civilians this week. President Trump called on "all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria. And also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types." The missiles were launched from two Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean. They struck the Shayrat airbase in Homs province, the site from which the planes that conducted the chemical attack originated. The military said the strike "severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure." U.S. officials said the Russians were given advance warning of the strike. There is a Russian military area at the base, but the U.S. took precautions not to strike that area. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday recalled the 2013 agreement with Syria to hand over its chemical stockpile and for Russia to monitor that Assad not renege on that deal: "Clearly, Russia has failed in its responsibility on that commitment. Either Russia has been complicit or has been incompetent on its ability to deliver."
2017-04-07 00:00:00
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