2017 Shayrat missile strike

United States missile strike in Syria on April 7, 2017

On the morning of 7 April 2017, during the Syrian Civil War, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Air Base.[1][2][3] The strike was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump as a direct response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack on 4 April 2017.[2][4]

USS Ross firing a Tomahawk missile towards the Shayrat Air Base

The strike was the first unilateral attack by the United States military to intentionally target the Ba'athist Syrian government forces during the war.[4][5]

President Trump justified the strike by stating that it is in the national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons in the world.[6]

References change

  1. "Statement from Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis on U.S. strike in S" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Starr, Barbara; Diamond, Jeremy (6 April 2017). "Trump launches military strike against Syria". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  3. "Syria war: US launches missile strikes following chemical 'attack'". BBC News. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lamothe, Dan; Ryan, Missy; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (6 April 2017). "U.S. strikes Syrian military airfield in first direct assault on Bashar al-Assad's government". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  5. ABC News staff (7 April 2017). "US warships launch cruise missile strike against Syrian airfield in retaliation for chemical attack". ABC News Australia. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. "Trump calls on 'all civilized nations' to end carnage in Syria after launching missile strike". Dallas News.