While Donald Trump is vowing to act should chemical attacks in Syria continue, he has made clear he does not want to deepen US involvement in the area.

"Mission accomplished!" Donald Trump tweeted the morning after the night before.

"A perfectly executed strike," he said, in reference to the three-country mission that took out chemical weapons research, development and storage facilities in Syria.

The US and its allies, France and Britain, have drawn a new red line on chemical weapons, but the Pentagon admits that capacity in that area still remains.

The strikes also did not target the Bashar al-Assad regime's use or access to conventional weapons.

At a Pentagon briefing, director of the Joint Chiefs Lieutenant General Kenneth F McKenzie said that the strikes were precise, overwhelming and effective, but that some of Syria's chemical weapons infrastructure remained.

"I think we've dealt them a severe blow," he said.

"[But] I would say there's still a residual element of the Syrian program that's out there.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the United States ambassador Nikki Haley warned that further strikes would come if chemical attacks continued.

"I spoke to the President this morning and he said, 'If the Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the United States is locked and loaded'," she told the meeting.

The US appeared to have drawn that line this time last year, when it launched 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria in response to a similar attack.

The attack at Douma was the 10th since that unilateral US missile strike in 2017, and while Mr Trump is vowing to act should such attacks continue, he has made clear he does not want to deepen US involvement in Syria.

Just a few days ago, he voiced his desire to pull US troops out altogether. Sources suggest he wants them out within six months.

On that basis, some of the reaction to the latest mission has been muted amid concern it will again be relegated to mere symbolism rather than bringing about any real change in Syria.

At the UN, Russia accused the US, UK and France of "hooliganism in international relations", again claiming the attack at Douma was staged as an excuse for an attack on the Assad regime.

The scientific facilities targeted in Syria are used only for peaceful means, the Russian ambassador claimed, calling for a vote for the allied group to immediately end its aggressive actions.

US Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement after the Pentagon disclosed that Russia had increased its online troll activity by 2,000 per cent in the last 24 hours.

"Russia is investing significant resources to create propaganda and disinformation.

"Kinetic, cyber, and information contests will overlap more and more in the coming years.

"The fog of war will not be limited to our situation rooms and battlefields; our enemies will work to create confusion and distrust among Americans here at home."

Several Democrats have questioned the administration's actions without congressional approval. </s> U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said President Donald Trump told her Saturday the U.S. remains "locked and loaded" if Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons to attack his own people again.

"Last night, we obliterated the major research facility that it used to assemble weapons of mass murder," Haley said at U.N. Security Council meeting called by Russia, which has condemned the Friday night strike on Syria's chemical weapon capabilities by the U.S., France and Britain. "I spoke to the president this morning and he said if the Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the United States is locked and loaded."

"When our our president draws a red line, our president enforces the red line," Haley added.

Addressing reports that Russia has stepped up efforts to spread misinformation after the strike, Haley stated that "pictures of dead children were not fake news" and said there is evidence the Syrian regime was behind the most recent attack. Haley said that past Russian actions through the Security Council had thwarted attempts to rein in the Assad's regime's use of chemical weapons, giving the "green light" to the Syrian leader.

"Chemical weapons are a threat to us all," Haley said. "They are unique threat, a type of weapon so evil that the international community agreed they must be banned. We cannot stand by and let Russia trash every international norm that we stand for."

Pentagon officials said Saturday that the strike dealt a crippling blow to Syria's future capabilities for using chemical weapons. Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters the U.S-led operation would “set the Syrian chemical weapons program back by years."

Trump congratulated U.S. and allied forces for the "perfectly executed strike," adding that it was "Mission Accomplished!" </s> Raising the possibility of a U.S. military strike, President Donald Trump on Monday condemned the latest apparent chemical weapons attack in Syria, telling reporters that he would soon meet with Pentagon leaders on the U.S. response.

“Nothing is off the table,” the President said flatly when asked about U.S. military action.

Reports from the Syrian opposition indicate around 40 people were killed in the chemical attack, which took place in the suburbs of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

“It was an atrocious attack, it was horrible,” Mr. Trump said. “You don’t see things like that – as bad as the news is around the world – you just don’t see those images.

A chemical weapons attack tied to the Syrian government almost exactly one year ago drew a U.S. military response, as the President ordered a series of cruise missile strikes, which struck a Syrian military air base.

“We are meeting with our military,” the President said about this latest attack, promising “we’ll be making some major decisions over the n next 24 to 48 hours.”

“We’re talking about humanity,” Mr. Trump said. “It can’t be allowed to happen.”

The President also again sent a strong message to Moscow, which has been accused of allowing Syria to use chemical weapons in the past.

“If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran – if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out,” the President said.

Mr. Trump was asked directly if Russian leader Vladimir Putin bears responsibility for the attack.

Mr. Trump, who has gone out of his way at times to avoid direct criticism of Russia and Putin, using a weekend tweet to point the finger directly at Moscow.

“President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,” Mr. Trump said of the Syrian leader.

On Capitol Hill, members of both parties denounced the latest chemical attack.

“The administration must now make Assad, Putin and Iran pay a significant price for continuing to kill innocent civilians in Syria,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).

“Russia's willful intransigence allows the Assad regime to commit acts of unspeakable terror on their own citizens,” said Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN).

There were other major foreign policy items discussed by the President in his photo op with reporters before Monday’s Cabinet meeting, as Mr. Trump said planning continues on a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. </s> iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Western leaders are weighing up a coordinated military response against the Syrian government over an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held neighborhood near Damascus on Saturday.

President Donald Trump, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May held phone conversations Tuesday discussing how the West should act in order to reinforce an international prohibition against chemical warfare.

Macron on Tuesday evening said he wants “a strong and joint response” to the attack, saying that France would decide in the coming days alongside the U.S. and Britain.

Meanwhile, leading officials from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have requested access to the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack that took place on a Syrian rebel-held neighborhood on Saturday.

The request from the OPCW Technical Secretariat to the Syrian government was announced just as Russia was telling the U.N. Security Council it would put two draft resolutions on Syria to a vote on Tuesday, after rejecting a similar proposal from the U.S. following an angry debate at the council Monday.

Trump has promised a “forceful” response to the alleged attack. The president discussed possible military action that could be taken during a Cabinet meeting with military leaders on Monday.

Options include limited military strikes, such as the Tomahawk missiles launched from a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Mediterranean targeting a Syrian airstrip almost exactly a year ago after an alleged chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib that killed more than 100 people.

“We have a lot of options, militarily,” the president said after the Cabinet meeting. “And we’ll be letting you know pretty soon — probably after the fact.”

Western leaders are mulling possible responses, including Macron and May.

When asked by reporters after the Cabinet meeting whether Russian President Vladimir Putin, who supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, bore responsibility for the attack, Trump said, “Yeah, he may, and if he does, it’s going to be very tough. Everybody is going to pay a price.”

Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton, was in the room during the Cabinet meetings on his first day in office.

It’s believed that any U.S. military response is unlikely to include significant numbers of ground forces. Trump signaled last month that he wanted a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria, taking observers by surprise.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Monday said Moscow will insist on inspectors from the OPCW traveling to the site of the alleged attack in Syria Saturday.

He added that Russia would submit a draft U.N. resolution Tuesday calling for a full investigation with the OPCW, saying the Syrian government and Russian forces were ready and available to facilitate an inspection “already today.”

Western representatives at the United Nations issued strong words Monday condemning the suspected attack in Douma, thought to have killed dozens of people while about 500 were treated with symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve agent.

Russia has the “blood of Syrian children” on its hands, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said.

“History will record this as the moment when the Security Council either discharged its duty or demonstrated its utter and complete failure to protect the people of Syria,” she said. “Either way, the United States will respond.”

But the Russian ambassador to the U.N., Vassily Nebenzia, said the chemical attack was staged and warned that any U.S. military response in Syria would have “grave repercussions.”

Russian experts had entered Douma Monday and did not find any traces of chemical substances used against civilians, Nebenzia said.

And Syrian envoy Bashar Jaafari said Syria had no chemical weapons stockpiles.

“We condemn their use, at any time and under any circumstances,” he said.

There have been 10 chemical attacks recorded by activists and doctors in Syria this year, including the alleged incident in Douma Saturday, according to the Syrian American Medical Society. </s> United States Department of Defense(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. and its allies are “still assessing the intelligence” needed to prove the Assad regime conducted a recent alleged chemical attack in Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said Wednesday.

When asked if he had seen enough evidence to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for last weekend’s alleged chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma, Mattis said, “We are still assessing the intelligence, ourselves and our allies. We’re still working on this,” referring to France and the United Kingdom.

Mattis spoke to reporters prior to a meeting at the Pentagon with the Netherlands’ minister of defense.

His comments came hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that Russia should be “ready” because “nice and new and ‘smart'” missiles “will be coming.”

Trump’s tweet seemed to be a response to Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon who told Hezbollah TV this morning that Russia will shoot down U.S. missiles and target launch sites. Russia has previously threatened to shoot down U.S. missiles and aircraft that threaten the lives of Russian personnel in Syria.

When asked if the U.S. military was ready to conduct a counter retaliatory strike if ordered, Mattis said, “We stand ready to provide military options if they are appropriate as the President determines.”

He would not say whether he was concerned about the president telegraphing U.S. military action in Syria.

On Monday, Trump said “major decisions” would be made on Syria in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Options for U.S. retaliation against the Syrian government over the alleged chemical attack run the gamut from light to heavy impact, according to a U.S. official.

Trump has had several phone conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on how the West should act in order to reinforce an international prohibition against chemical warfare.

Macron on Tuesday evening said he wants “a strong and joint response” to the attack, saying that France would decide in the coming days alongside the U.S. and Britain.

There are French aircraft in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and British aircraft in Cyprus. Both carry Storm Shadow or SCALP cruise missiles.

According to the official, one option being considered by the U.S. military is striking at the Assad regime’s command and control headquarters for the Syrian military. Another option is striking at areas where the Assad regime houses its chemical weapons.

The U.S. could also conduct limited military strikes, such as the Tomahawk missiles launched from a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Mediterranean targeting a Syrian airstrip almost exactly a year ago after an alleged chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib that killed more than 100 people.

These attacks could require routing cruise missiles around several Russian S-400 air defense batteries located inside Syria.

If the administration decides to launch Tomahawk missiles again, there’s only one U.S. Navy ship in the eastern Mediterranean that could do it: the USS Donald Cook.

On Monday, the Navy announced the ship was leaving Larnaca, Cyprus after a port call. A U.S. defense official told ABC News that the Cook’s departure on Monday was previously scheduled and not related to possible military action in Syria.

The Cook is equipped with Aegis, a quick reaction air and ballistic missile defense system.

Heeding the possibility of U.S. military action, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday that Russia’s Navy will conduct military exercises off the coast of Syria on Wednesday.

It’s believed that any U.S. military response is unlikely to include significant numbers of ground forces. Trump signaled last month that he wanted a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria, taking observers by surprise.

Meanwhile, leading officials from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have requested access to the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack that took place on a Syrian rebel-held neighborhood on Saturday.

On Monday, the World Health Organization said that, during the shelling of Douma, “an estimated 500 patients presented to health facilities exhibiting signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals.”

“More than 70 people sheltering in basements have reportedly died, with 43 of those deaths related to symptoms consistent with exposure to highly toxic chemicals,” the organization said. “Two health facilities were also reportedly affected by these attacks.”

There have been 10 chemical attacks recorded by activists and doctors in Syria this year, including the alleged incident in Douma, according to the Syrian American Medical Society. </s> Donald Trump has hit out at Russian and Iranian support of the Syrian regime

Donald Trump has warned Russia and Iran there will be a "big price to pay" for backing the Syrian regime after a suspected chemical attack.

The US President condemned as "mindless" and "SICK" reports of at least 70 people being killed, and a further 500 injured, in an alleged chlorine gas attack in the city of Douma in eastern Ghouta.

Mr Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron also vowed a "strong, joint response" during a phone conversation, the White House said on Sunday evening.

It added that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad "must be held accountable for its continued human rights abuses".

:: 'Hell on earth': What's happening in Syria?

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There has been no independent verification of the claims - made by the White Helmets rescue service and other opposition-linked medical relief groups - of a chemical attack.

However, the EU has said the "evidence points toward yet another chemical attack".

:: Several dead after missiles hit airfield in Homs

Babies caught up in 'chemical attack'

Nine countries have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the reports: the UK, France, the US, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Kuwait, Peru and Ivory Coast. It is due to take place later.

The allegations have been denied by the Syrian government and Russia, with the latter separately calling for a Security Council meeting over "threats to international peace and security".

:: Syrian opposition and Russia reach agreement over Douma

Syrian media accused anti-Assad fighters in Douma of making "chemical attack fabrications" and added that allegations of toxic gas use are an "unconvincing broken record".

Iran branded the allegations as a "conspiracy" against Mr Assad, and warned that any US military intervention would "certainly complicate the situation" in Syria and the wider region.

Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018 ....to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

The country's official IRNA news agency said the alleged attack had been condemned by the foreign ministry, which said in a statement: "Such allegations and accusations by the Americans and certain Western countries signal a new conspiracy against the Syrian government and people, and a pretext for military action."

It continued: "With the Syrian army having the upper hand on the ground against the armed terrorists, it would not be rational for it to use chemical weapons."

Mr Trump had earlier tweeted: "Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...

"....to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!"

.@POTUS & I closely monitoring likely chemical attack in Syria. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the assault on innocent lives, including children. The Assad regime & its backers MUST END their barbaric behavior. As POTUS said, big price to pay for those responsible! — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 8, 2018

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the allegations of a chlorine gas attack in the rebel holdout as "deeply disturbing" and called for an immediate investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

"It is truly horrific to think that many of the victims were reportedly families seeking refuge from airstrikes in underground shelters," he said.

"Despite Russia's promise in 2013 to ensure Syria would abandon all of its chemical weapons, international investigators mandated by the UN Security Council have found the Assad regime responsible for using poison gas in at least four separate attacks since 2014."

"These latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond."

Image: People rush to help a distressed young child after the alleged chemical attack in Douma

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "The horrific deaths and injuries in Douma point to a chemical attack which must be fully investigated by the UN and those responsible held to account.

"The need to restart real negotiations for peace and a political settlement in Syria could not be more urgent."

Image: Douma in eastern Ghouta has been dubbed 'hell on earth'

The EU has called on Russia and Iran as "supporters of the regime" to use their influence with Damascus to prevent a similar attack.

Last year, the UN was among those blaming Syrian government forces for a deadly sarin gas attack on the opposition-held village of Khan Sheikhun in which at least 100 people died.

That attack prompted the US to launch several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base, which President Trump said was meant to "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly weapons".

April 2017: Syrian TV shows 'missiles hitting airbase'

Responding to the latest allegations, the Russian foreign ministry warned: "The goal of these false speculations, which are not substantiated by any facts, is to cover up terrorists and irreconcilable radical opposition, which opposes political settlement, and to simultaneously try to justify potential external military strikes.

"It is necessary to once again caution that military intervention under false and fabricated pretexts in Syria, where the Russian servicemen stay at the request of the legitimate government, is absolutely unacceptable and may trigger the gravest consequences."

British MP Johnny Mercer, who has previously claimed it was "the biggest foreign policy mistake of the decade" not to take military action in Syria, tweeted: "Look at the consequences of inaction." </s> President Donald Trump has condemned the "heinous" suspected poison gas attack in Syria and said he'll make a decision on the U.S. response within 24 to 48 hours.

Speaking in the White House Cabinet Room Monday, Trump vowed to find out who is responsible for the attack that reportedly killed at least 40 people.

Trump said during a Cabinet meeting with reporters that, "If it's Russia, if it's Syria, if it's Iran, if it's all of them together, we'll figure it out."

Opposition activists said 40 people died in the chemical attack late Saturday in the suburbs of the Syrian capital and blamed it on the Syrian government, which is closely allied with Russia.

Syria has blamed Israel for a missile attack on a central air base early Monday that reportedly killed 14 people, including three Iranians.

Since 2012, Israel has struck inside Syria more than 100 times, mostly targeting suspected weapons’ convoys destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces.

Most recently, Israel hit the same T4 base in February, after it said an Iranian drone that had violated Israeli airspace took off from the base. The base, which was used as a launching pad for counter offensive attacks against Islamic State militants who were at one point stationed close by, is near the Shayrat air base, which was targeted by U.S. missiles last year in response to a chemical weapons attack.

Israel’s foreign ministry had no comment when asked about the accusations.

Rami Abdurrahman, the Observatory’s chief, said the assault targeted a mobile air defense unit and some buildings inside the air base. He added that it also hit posts outside the base used by the Iranians and Iran-backed fighters.

Israel fears Iran could use Syria’s territory to stage attacks on it. The U.S. launched several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base last year, after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people.

Saturday’s suspected poison gas attack on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after the U.S. missile attack prompted by the Khan Sheikhoun deaths.

In response to the reports, President Trump on Sunday blamed Syrian government forces for what he called a “mindless CHEMICAL attack.” In a series of tweets, President Trump held Russia and Iran, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s chief sponsors, responsible.

The Syrian government denied the chemical weapons allegations, calling them fabrications.

First responders entering apartments in Douma late Saturday said they found bodies collapsed on floors, some foaming at the mouth. The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense rescue organization said the victims appeared to have suffocated.

The organization, also known as the White Helmets, and the Syrian American Medical Society, a medical relief organization, did not identify the substance used but said survivors treated at clinics smelled strongly of chlorine.

Those reports could not be independently verified because of a government blockade around the town.

Hours after the attack, the Army of Islam rebel group agreed to surrender the town and evacuate their fighters to rebel-held northern Syria, Syrian state media reported. The group also agreed to give up its prisoners, a key government demand.

The government agreed to halt its assault after three days of indiscriminate air and ground attacks.

More than 100 buses entered the town on Sunday night to take the fighters and their families to Jarablus, a town under the shared control of rebels and Turkey, said Syrian state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV.

Syrian state TV said two buses left early Monday and that 11 more buses were getting ready to move.

Syrian state media said dozens of civilians who had been held for years by the rebels were set free. The SANA news agency said the people were freed around midnight on SundayPresident , adding that they had been held by the Army of Islam group since 2013.

The evacuations follow a pattern of departures around the capital, Damascus, and other major Syrian cities as the government reasserts its control after seven years of war.

Human rights groups and U.N. officials say the tactic amounts to forced displacement, a war crime. The U.N. Security Council planned to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the chemical attack.

In his tweets Sunday, President Trump called Assad an “animal” and delivered a rare personal criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting him. President Trump has declared his intent to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in the coming months, despite resistance from many of his advisers.

Syrian rescuers from the White Helmets documented 42 fatalities in Saturday’s reported chemical attack but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that caused breathing difficulties, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group.

More than 500 people, mostly women and children, were brought to medical centers complaining of difficulties breathing, foaming at the mouth and burning sensations in the eyes. Some had bluish skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation, according to a statement, symptoms consistent with chemical exposure.

The Observatory gave a higher death toll, saying at least 80 people were killed in Douma, including around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them.

In denying the chemical weapons allegations, a government statement said “the army, which is advancing rapidly and with determination, does not need to use any kind of chemical agents.”

Russia denied any involvement in the attack. Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko was quoted by Russian news agencies Sunday as saying Russia was prepared to send specialists to Douma to “confirm the fabricated nature” of the reports.

In recent weeks, government forces have recaptured villages and towns in the eastern Ghouta suburbs of the capital. Douma was the only town left holding out.

A 2013 chemical attack in eastern Ghouta that killed hundreds of people was widely blamed on government forces. The U.S. threatened military action but later backed down.

Syria denies ever using chemical weapons during the war and says it eliminated its chemical arsenal under a 2013 agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is weighing a multinational military response to the suspected Syrian poison gas attack, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, as experts listed several key facilities that could be viable targets.

U.S. President Donald Trump receives a briefing from senior military leadership accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence and new National Security Adviser John Bolton at the Cabinet room of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

U.S. President Donald Trump promised forceful action on Monday, saying a decision would be made soon following the suspected chemical weapons attack late on Saturday in the Syrian city of Douma that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 1,000 others.

U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity did not disclose any plans, but acknowledged military options were being developed. The White House, Pentagon and State Department declined to comment on specific options or whether military action was likely.

Experts on Syria’s war cited France and perhaps even Britain and Middle East allies as potential partners in any U.S. military operation, which would aim to discourage future chemical weapons use in Syria’s brutal civil war.President Emmanuel Macron warned in February that France would strike Syria if it broke treaties prohibiting chemical weapons. France has more than a dozen warplanes in the Middle East and could look to strike from the sea.

British U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce told reporters that Britain “would prefer to start with a proper investigation” but that all options were on the table and London was in close contact with its U.S. and French allies.

U.S. intelligence officials said they believed a chemical attack did take place but that Washington was still gathering information. Trump said he was getting clarity about who precisely was responsible for the attack, but did not elaborate.

Experts speculated that the retaliatory strikes, should they happen, would likely focus on facilities linked to past reports of Syrian chemical weapons attacks.

They cited potential strikes against bases including Dumayr air base, which is home to Syrian Mi-8 helicopters and has been linked in social media to the strike in Douma.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was unaware of any decision to go ahead with a strike, but said any plans for a possible attack could focus on targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons program while seeking to avoid anything that could spread poisonous fallout in civilian areas.

A more provocative strike could target Humaymim Airfield in northwest Syria, which was singled out by the White House in a March 4 statement that identified it as the starting point for bombing missions by Russian military aircraft in Damascus and Eastern Ghouta.

“It depends on how serious they are,” said Hassan Hassan, a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

RUSSIAN THREATS

The United States fired missiles at the Shayrat air base a year ago in response to the killing of dozens of civilians in a sarin gas attack in an opposition-held town.

The United States warned Russia prior to the strikes themselves, seeking to avoid killing Russian forces. The base quickly resumed flights and the strikes did little long-term damage to Syria’s broader military campaign, thanks largely to robust Iranian and Russian support.

In recent weeks, however, Trump, along with his top advisers, have stressed Russia’s complicity in Assad’s actions. Trump on Sunday specifically criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for backing Assad, whom he called an “animal.”

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday that Moscow had warned the United States of grave repercussions if it carried out an attack against Syrian government forces.

Jennifer Cafarella, at the Institute for the Study of War think tank in Washington, cautioned that Washington needed to be ready for retaliation, particularly if the U.S. strikes imposed military costs to Iran or Russia.

“The U.S. needs to contemplate whether Assad, and/or the Russians and the Iranians will escalate against deployed U.S. forces in Syria in retaliation,” Cafarella said.

She said Syria might have tipped its hand as to how it would respond to a limited U.S. strike earlier on Monday, when Syrian air defense systems shot down five out of eight missiles fired from suspected Israeli warplanes.

They did not shoot down the attacking aircraft.

At the time, there was social media reporting that the strike was being carried out by the U.S. military, which the Pentagon denied.

“I think that tells you something about what the rules of engagement were at the time,” Cafarella said. </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday condemned a “mindless CHEMICAL attack” in Syria that killed women and children, called Syrian President Bashar Assad an “animal” and delivered a rare personal criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting the Damascus government.

As Washington worked to verify the claim by Syrian opposition activists and rescuers that poison gas was used, President Trump said there would be a “big price to pay” for resorting to outlawed weapons of mass destruction. A top White House aide, asked about the possibility of a U.S. missile strike in response, said, “I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”

Just over a year ago, President Trump ordered dozens of cruise missiles to be fired at a Syrian air base after declaring there was no doubt Assad had “choked out the lives of helpless” civilians in an attack that used banned gases. White House advisers said at the time that images of hurt children helped spur the president to launch that air strike, and television new shows on Sunday aired similar depictions of suffering young Syrians.

“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria,” President Trump tweeted. “Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”

Saturday’s attack took place in a rebel-held town near Damascus amid a resumed offensive by Syrian government forces after the collapse of a truce. Syrian activists, rescuers and medics said a poison gas attack in Douma killed at least 40 people, with families found suffocated in their houses and shelters. The reports could not immediately be independently verified.

The developments come as President Trump has moved to dramatically scale back U.S. goals in Syria, pushing for a quick military withdrawal despite resistance from many of his national security advisers. President Trump has given no formal order to pull out the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria or offered a public timetable other than to say the U.S. will withdraw as soon as the remaining Islamic State fighters can be vanquished.

But President Trump has signaled to his advisers that, ideally, he wants all troops out within six months.

Images released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, a volunteer organization, show children lying on the ground motionless and foaming at the mouth. The Assad government, in a statement posted on the state-run news agency SANA, denied responsibility.

President Trump was briefed about the attack by his chief of staff, John Kelly, officials said. President Trump’s homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert, noted the timing of the suspected chemical attack — almost a year to the day of the U.S. missile strikes.

“This isn’t just the United States. This is one of those issues on which every nation, all peoples, have all agreed and have agreed since World War II, it’s an unacceptable practice,” Bossert said.

Asked about the potential for an American missile strike in response, Bossert said: “I wouldn’t take anything off the table. These are horrible photos. We’re looking into the attack at this point.”

President Trump was to meet with his senior military leadership on Monday, the same day his new national security adviser, John Bolton, assumes his post. Bolton has previously advocated significant airstrikes against Syria.

Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday deemed it a “likely chemical attack” and reiterated Trump’s threat that consequences would be coming for those responsible.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the assault on innocent lives, including children,” Pence tweeted. “The Assad regime & its backers MUST END their barbaric behavior.”

President Trump’s decision to single out Putin in a tweet appeared noteworthy because President Trump long has been reluctant to personally criticize the Russian leader. Even as the White House, after some delay, imposed tough new sanctions on Russia in the wake of its U.S. election meddling and suspected poisoning of a former spy on British soil, President Trump left it to others in his administration to deliver the rebukes to Moscow.

Last month, President Trump called Putin and, against the counsel of his advisers, congratulated the Russian president on his re-election and invited him to the White House. On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, urged President Trump to “ramp up the pressure and the sanctions on the Russian government, because, without the support of Russia, I do not believe that Assad would still be in office.”

President Trump also invoked Iran in his series of tweets, further challenging Tehran while signaling he may scuttle its nuclear deal with the West. The president has often laid some blame on his predecessor, Barack Obama, for Assad’s continued grip on power after years of civil war.

Obama said in 2012 that Syria’s use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” that would change his decision-making on intervening in the war and have “enormous consequences.” After such an attack in 2013 killed hundreds outside Damascus, American ships in the Mediterranean were poised to launch missiles. But Obama pulled back after key U.S. ally Britain, as well as Congress, balked.

He opted for a Russian-backed proposal that was supposed to remove and eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

“If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!” President Trump tweeted from the White House.

Questions about the administration’s possible response reverberated throughout Washington in the hours after the attack.

“It’s a defining moment in his presidency” that comes as Assad sees the U.S. “determination to stay in Syria waning,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.,

“If he doesn’t follow through and live up to that tweet, he’s going to look weak in the eyes of Russia and Iran,” Graham said. “You need to follow through with that tweet. Show a resolve that Obama never did to get this right.”

Graham and Bossert were on ABC’s “This Week,” and Collins appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
U.S. President Donald Trump warns Syria's government that the U.S. is "locked and loaded" to strike again if Syria were to carry out new chemical attacks.