The United States
launched dozens of cruise missiles Thursday night at a Syrian airfield in
response to what it believes was Syria's use of banned chemical weapons that
killed at least 100 people, U.S. military officials told NBC News.
Two U.S. warships in the
Mediterranean Sea fired 59 Tomahawk missiles intended for a single target — Ash
Sha'irat in Homs province in western Syria, the officials said. That's the
airfield from which the United States believes the government of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad fired the banned weapons.
There was no immediate
word on casualties. U.S. officials told NBC News that people were not targeted
and that aircraft and infrastructure at the site were hit, including the runway
and gas fuel pumps.
"It is in this
vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the
spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," said Trump, who called on
other countries to end the bloodshed in Syria.
Trump
is in Florida for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinpeng. Defense
Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security
adviser H.R. McMaster traveled to Florida with him.
Defense Secretary James
Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R.
McMaster traveled to Florida with Trump. In Washington, Vice President Mike
Pence returned to the White House after having gone home for dinner Thursday
evening.
Ahrar Al Sham, the
largest Syrian armed rebel group, told NBC News it "welcomes any U.S.
intervention through surgical strikes that would deter the Assad regime
capabilities to kill civilians and shorten the suffering of our people."
Tillerson and Nikki
Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, have bluntly blamed
Syria for the chemical weapons attack, whose victims included at least 25
children.
Tillerson told reporters
on Thursday that "there is no doubt in our minds" that the Syrian
regime was responsible for the attack. And in a combative speech at the U.N.
Security Council on Wednesday, Haley warned: "When the United Nations
consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life
of states that we are compelled to take our own action."
Tillerson on Assad
Regime: He Has 'No Role' to Govern Syria
NBC News reported
Thursday that Defense Secretary James Mattis briefed
President Donald Trump on U.S. military options, which included carrying
out targeted strikes against those responsible for Tuesday's attack.
There was no immediate
reaction from Russia, which Tillerson and Haley have accused of turning a blind
eye to Syria's transgressions.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley
"Russia cannot
escape responsibility for this," Haley said at the United Nations.
"They chose to close their eyes to the barbarity. They defied the
conscience of the world."
Thursday, Tillerson
urged Russia to "consider carefully their continued support of the Assad
regime."
