US, UK and France strike Syria over suspected chemical attack

As per reports, loud explosions light up skies over Syrian capital.

AFP PHOTO

Damascus: On Friday night, the US launched coordinated strikes against Syria. Syrian research, storage and military targets were destroyed. President Donald Trump sought to "punish" his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. "I ordered the US armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad," Trump said from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, reported news agency IANS. Assad is alleged for a suspected chemical attack that killed over 70 people. UK and France also joined the strikes. US President indicated the strikes would continue until and unless Syria will stop using chemical weapons. As per reports, loud explosions lit up over the Syrian capital.

“Right now, we have no reports of losses,” says United States Defense Secretary James Mattis pic.twitter.com/WjBKg69LMk

— ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2018

A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way. We thank them both. This massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime: US President Donald Trump, reports AFP (File pic) pic.twitter.com/SrbQAdYnXH

— ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2018

It may be recalled that in April 2017 United States had  fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase. The latest strikes by the US is its second attempt to punish the country for the alleged use of the chemical weapons.