A Reuters witness said that at least six loud explosions were heard in Damascus with smoke rising over the Syrian capital where a second witness said the Barzah district, the location of a major Syrian scientific research center, was also hit in the strikes.
“A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of” Syria, Trump said in a televised address from the White House on Friday evening.
Pentagon said in a statement that at least 58 missiles had struck Shayrat airbase in the western Syrian city of Homs. An unnamed US official said Tomahawk missiles were used in the strikes. The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force said four Tornado GR4s fighters jets joined in the operation, while France said it had deployed Mirage and Rafale fighter jets.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also said she authorized the British armed forces to conduct coordinated and targeted strikes, noting, “I have done so because I judge this action to be in Britain’s national interest.”
French President Emanuel Macron also claimed the strikes targeted Syria’s capability to launch chemical attacks.
“We cannot tolerate the normalization of the use of chemical weapons,” he said in a statement issued shortly after huge explosions were heard in Damascus early Saturday followed by the sound of airplanes overhead.
The three countries used an alleged chemical attack in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus last week as a pretext for their military action. They blame the Syrian government for the attack, without offering any evidence.
Syria has strongly rejected any role in the suspected attack, which came just as the Syrian army was about to declare full victory against the militants operating in the region.Russia said the chemical attack was staged by desperate militants to provoke further intervention in the conflict by the West.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said in a press briefing that the air strikes on targets in Syria were a “one time shot,” noting that future strikes would depend on whether the Syrian government uses chemical weapons.
The Russian military said Saturday that the three countries fired 103 cruise missiles including Tomahawk missiles at Syria but that Syrian air defense systems managed to intercept 71 of them.
"All together, 103 cruise missiles were deployed," senior military officer Sergei Rudskoi said at a briefing in Moscow. "Seventy-one cruise missiles were intercepted."
A presidency source said French Mirage and Rafale fighter jets were involved in the air strikes on Syria together with four frigate warships.
This included an air defence frigate, three multi-mission frigates, Mirage 2000 jets, Rafale, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) and support and supply assistance, the source said.