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The United States has fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria in retaliation for this week's chemical weapons attack against civilians.
Key points:
- About 60 US Tomahawk missiles targeted Syrian airbase near Homs
- Donald Trump said missile attack in the nation's "vital national security interest"
- Syria's ally Russia was given advance warning
Follow developments live on our blog.
It was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government, and Donald Trump's most dramatic military order since becoming president.
About 60 US Tomahawk missiles, fired from warships in the Mediterranean Sea, targeted an air base in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that American officials believe Syrian government aircraft launched with a nerve agent, possibly sarin.
The targets at the government-controlled Shayrat base, in central Syria, were an airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations, a US official said.
The base was where US officials say the Syrian military planes that dropped the chemicals had taken off.
The missiles hit early Friday morning, local time, with the US military claiming it appeared the strikes severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft as well as support infrastructure and equipment.
"The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated," the Pentagon said in a statement, adding the strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.
The President's national security adviser, General HR McMaster, said Mr Trump was given three options for possible responses to the chemical attack and told advisers to focus on two. He made a decision the day before the strikes.
Trump says attack was in 'vital security interest' of the US
Speaking after news of the launch emerged, Mr Trump said he called on "all civilised nations" to seek to end the bloodshed and slaughter in Syria.
He said the US missile attack was in the nation's "vital national security interest", arguing that the United States must "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons".
He said there was "no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons" in Tuesday's attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun.
"[Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this barbaric attack," Mr Trump said in Florida, where he was holding talks with China's leader Xi Jinping.
He said previous attempts at getting Mr Assad to change his behaviour had failed.
The surprise strike marked a striking reversal for Mr Trump, who warned as a candidate against the US getting pulled into the Syrian civil war, now in its seventh year.
But the President said he was moved by the photos of children killed in the chemical attack, calling it a "disgrace to humanity" that crossed "a lot of lines."
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the attack showed the President "is willing to take decisive action when called for".
"I would not in any way attempt to extrapolate that to a change in our policy or posture relative to our military activities in Syria today," he said.
"There has been no change in that status.
"I think it does demonstrate that President Trump is willing to act when governments and actors cross the line and cross the line on violating commitments they've made and cross the line in the most heinous of ways."
The President did not announce the attacks in advance, though he and other national security officials ratcheted up their warnings to the Syrian government throughout the day Thursday.
Peter Jennings from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said Mr Trump's quick response to this week's chemical attack was very deliberate.
"Trump was learning from the mistake of Barack Obama in September 2013, when he drew a red line about chemical weapons used in Syria, then the Syrians used chemical weapons and Obama refused to do then what Trump has done today," he said.
Russia warned ahead of strikes
Fact file: Tomahawk missile
- The Tomahawk is an all-weather, long-range cruise missile used for land attack warfare
- They fly low, at less than the speed of sound, and are have several guidance systems
- First used against Iraqi targets during Operation Desert Storm in 1991
- Launched from warships and powered by a jet engine
- The missiles were also used during the fighting in Libya
Source: United States Navy
The Pentagon said Russia was given advance notice of the strikes, via an "established deconfliction line" the two countries share, adding the missiles did not target areas Russians were occupying.
US officials have placed some of the blame on Russia, one of Syria's most important benefactors, for the chemical attack. Mr Tillerson, in Florida with Mr Trump, said Moscow had failed to live up to a 2013 agreement that was intended to strip Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles.
"Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of the agreement," Mr Tillerson said.
The United States also told Australia of the strikes before they took place. Defence sources told the ABC Australia was advised of the strikes "a couple of hours" before they happened.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull gave a strong hint earlier on Friday that military action against Syria may be imminent, saying the chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime "cried out for a strong response".
Mr Turnbull has not made a public statement since the strikes, but Immigration Minister Peter Dutton is due to hold a press conference soon and will field questions about what has happened.
Rebel group welcomes US intervention
A military official quoted on Syrian TV said an air base in central Syria was hit early Friday, causing material damage. Another statement, also attributed to an unnamed official, referred to "losses." The officials did not elaborate.
Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs province, where the targeted air base is located, told The Associated Press by phone that most of the strikes appeared to target the province in central Syria.
He also said the strikes were meant to "support the terrorists on the ground" and told Syrian state TV the country's leadership and policy would not change as a result.
"[The] human casualties are not big, but there is material damage, we hope there are not many victims and martyrs," he said.
A Syrian opposition group, the Syrian Coalition, welcomed the US attack, saying it puts an end to an age of "impunity" and should be just the beginning.
ABC/wires
How can Australians help people in Syria?
According to the Red Cross, the most efficient way of helping people caught in the crossfire in Syria is with monetary support. Here are some of the organisations helping people in the region:
UNHCR runs camps for people displaced in Syria, has provided shelter, blankets, heating stoves and aid items to more than 2.3 million people. Since conflict began, Australia for UNHCR has raised $10.8 million to close UNHCR's funding gap in Syria
UNICEF has been providing Syria's children shelter, nutrition, clean water and sanitisation, temporary learning spaces and psychosocial services
Red Cross donations reach 5 million Syrians each month with food, water, first aid, hygiene kits, blankets and cash grants
World Vision are providing food, clean water, sanitation, health care and winter essentials directly to people in Syria. It's also helping displaced Syrians in Lebanon and Jordan
In Syria, Save the Children are also providing food, clean water, medicines and shelter. It's supporting schools and teachers to ensure children are able to continue their education
CARE Australia is delivering emergency aid, shelter kits and food parcels in Syria to displaced families in areas under siege
Medecins Sans Frontieres Australia (Doctors Without Borders) operates medical facilities inside Syria, as well as directly supporting more than 150 medical structures throughout the country- Oxfam is on the ground in Syria and in Jordan and Lebanon providing emergency assistance for Syrians
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic, united-states
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