"Russia suspends the memorandum on the prevention of incidents and ensuring air safety during operations in Syria reached with the US," the ministry said in a statement.

The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha'irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus. </s> Damascus (AFP) - A US missile strike targeting an airbase in central Syria killed nine civilians, including four children, on Friday, state news agency SANA reported.

The news agency said five of the civilians, among them three children, were killed in the village of Shayrat just outside the base of the same name.

"An American missile also hit the village of Al-Hamrat, which killed four civilians including a child," it added.

"Another seven civilians were wounded when a missile hit homes in Al-Manzul, four kilometres (two and a half miles) away from the Shayrat air base," it added.

Washington said it fired a barrage of 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat base in response to what President Donald Trump called a "barbaric" chemical attack on a rebel-held town on Tuesday that he blamed on the Damascus regime.

The Pentagon said it believed the aircraft that carried out the deadly attack on Khan Sheikhun came from the Shayrat base.

US officials said Russian commanders in Syria were informed of the strike beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis.

The Syrian army had said earlier that six people were killed in the strike on the base -- the first time that the US has directly attacked the government of President Bashar al-Assad. </s> April 9 (UPI) -- Russia and Syria blamed the Israeli military Monday for a missile strike on an air base near the Mediterranean coast that killed more than a dozen people.

The base, known as Tiyas, was struck late Sunday by at least 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles. The government-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency said their direction of travel indicated they may have come from Israel. Eight of them were shot down.

SANA also reported the United States was responsible for the airstrike, but Pentagon officials have denied it.

The Russian Defense Ministry said two Israeli F-15 fighter planes fired the missiles from Lebanese airspace, and that five of eight missiles were intercepted.

The Israeli military did not initially confirm or deny information on the strikes.

Israel has remained largely neutral in the Syria conflict -- as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with allies Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, have fought rebel factions backed by the United States. Tel Aviv, though, has concerns about Iran establishing military sites inside Syria that could be used to attack Israel.

The Tiyas base is not known to contain chemical weapons, but Israel has accused Syria of allowing Iran to establish a base there to supply Hezbollah with weapons.

"We have clear interests in Syria and we set red lines," Yoav Galant of Israel's security cabinet said after the attack. "We will not allow weapons to be transferred from Syria to Lebanon and we will not allow an Iranian entrenchment."

The airstrike, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said killed three Syrian commanders, came after reports Saturday of a chemical attack on civilians in the embattled city of Ghouta, a Damascus suburb.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Syria would pay "a big price" for the chemical attack and said Assad should expect a "strong, joint response" with France. Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are scheduled to meet in Washington on April 23.

A year ago, Trump fired dozens of cruise missiles into the al-Shayrat airfield, near Homs, following a chemical attack that killed and injured hundreds of civilians. </s> Following Sundays chemical weapon attack in Douma that was blamed on the Syrian government, Israel launched missiles at a Syrian airbase according to the Russian MoD.



The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that two Israeli F-15 fighters targeted Syria’s T-4 airbase in the Homs province.

The jets fired eight guided missiles, but five of them were shot down before they hit the airfield.

The missiles crossed Lebanese air space to reach their intended target. Activists ssay that at least 14 people were killed in the strike, including Iranians.

RT reports: In a statement on Monday, the Russian military said: “Two Israeli Air Force F-15 jets fired eight guided missiles at the T-4 airfield.” The Israeli aircraft did not enter Syrian airspace and launched the strikes while flying over Lebanon.

Syrian air defense units have shot down five guided missiles,” the military said, but confirmed that three of the missiles “reached the western part of the airfield.”

The Israeli embassy in Moscow refused to comment on the Russian Defense Ministry’s report, Alex Gandler, the diplomatic mission’s press attache, told Sputnik. Asked about the Russian military’s statement, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said he had no immediate comment, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Citing its own correspondent, Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen channel said earlier on Monday that an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft was airborne during the attack on the Syrian base. The missiles crossed Lebanese airspace over Keserwan and Bekaa, heading towards Syria, according to the broadcaster.

The missile attack took place on Sunday night in Syria’s Homs governorate. State news agency SANA reported there were several “martyrs and wounded,” but did not disclose the exact number of casualties. The report also said that the US was “probably” behind the attack, although Washington denied any complicity in the strike.

“At this time, the Department of Defense is not conducting airstrikes in Syria,” the Pentagon told Reuters in a statement. “However, we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable.”

France, which was also suspected of being involved in the attack, denied any responsibility for the military strike, AFP reported on Monday.

The strike on the T-4 base came shortly after Western powers accused the Syrian government of orchestrating an alleged a chlorine attack in the militant-held town of Douma. The chemical incident was reported by the White Helmets, a controversial group repeatedly accused of having ties to terrorists.

Commenting on the unconfirmed gas attack, US President Donald Trump denounced the “mindless” atrocity, which he described as a “humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever.” He also accused Russia and Iran of bearing responsibility for the incident, due to their support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Washington and Paris have already held telephone talks, during which Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron decided to oppose Russia at the upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting, which is being convened to discuss the Douma incident. President Macron previously signaled that Paris might consider unilateral actions, including a military strike, if chemical weapons were ever used in Syria again.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced allegations regarding the chemical attack, calling them a “continuous series of fake news” and “baseless speculation.” It noted that Moscow had already warned about a false-flag chemical attack being prepared in recent months. Damascus also rejected the accusations, with the Syrian Foreign Ministry pointing out that similar allegations emerge every time the Syrian Army makes advances in its fight against terrorists. </s> The U.S. launched cruise missiles against Syria Friday, a day after President Trump said a chemical weapons attack that killed 86, “crossed many, many” lines.

Here’s what we know so far:

Why did the U.S. attack?

In 2013 President Obama set a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons by Syria's President Bashar Assad. The regime proceeded to use the weapons to kill 1,400 civilians, but Obama decided not to attack — a move Trump and other Republicans widely criticized as making America look weak.

In a Russian-brokered deal in the wake of that episode, Assad agreed to turn over his stockpile of chemical weapons. This week's chemical attack clearly violated that pledge. Trump called the attack — which killed at least 86 people, 27 of them children — "a disgrace to humanity" and "truly one of the egregious crimes."

"The strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again," Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.

"It is in the vital national security interest of the United states to prevent and deter the use of deadly chemical weapons," Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago retreat after the strikes were carried out early Friday morning, Syria time. "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 at this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror."

How did the U.S. attack?

The cruise missiles were fired from a U.S. Navy vessel in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The missiles hit multiple targets, including the airfield which serves as the base for the warplanes suspected of carrying out the chemical attack.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said said “the combat efficiency of the U.S. strike was very low" and that 23 of the 59 missiles fired by the U.S. reached the base. "The place of the fall of the other missiles is unknown," Konashenkov said, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

The plan for the attack followed one devised in 2013 after Obama set his "red line," a senior defense official told USA TODAY.

Did the strikes cause any casualties?

Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs province, where the base is located, said at least seven people were killed in the strikes. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said six Syrian jets were destroyed but the air base's runway was intact.

The Syrian army said the strikes killed six people, the official SANA news agency reported. Homs governor Talal Barazi told The Associated Press that the U.S. missile strikes killed three soldiers and two civilians and wounded seven other people. A Syrian opposition monitor said the attack killed four soldiers, the AP reported.

Has the U.S. struck Syria before?

The U.S. has been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria since 2014, but this was the first strike against the Syrian regime. This also marked the first conventional assault on another country ordered by Trump.

Why did the U.S. attack from ships?

Tomahawk missiles can travel 1,500 miles to strike their target. So, the U.S. Navy was able to launch the attack from the Mediterranean Sea, avoiding the need to get permission from any host country to use aircraft or land-based missiles launch the strikes.

What are the risks of attacking the regime?

One potential concern is the safety of U.S. special operations troops in eastern Syria who are advising local ground forces in their fight against the Islamic State. One official told USA TODAY there are fears Assad could counter by targeting the U.S. troops.

One reason the U.S. chose limited strikes against Assad is that a more sustained campaign would risk the total collapse of the regime. That risks a power vacuum that could allow ISIS or other extremists to seize power.

Syria condemned strikes as a "blatant act of aggression." The Syrian army said the action made the United States a “partner” of the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra (an offshoot of al-Qaeda) and other terrorist organizations.

The office of Syrian President Bashar Assad said the strikes were "shortsighted," “reckless” and “irresponsible.”

“At 3:42 a.m. today, the United States of America committed a blatant act of aggression targeting one of our air bases in the Central Region with a number of missiles, leaving 6 people martyred and a number of others injured and causing huge material damage,” the Syrian military said in a statement carried by the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

How did Russia and Iran respond?

"It is an act of aggression under a completely far-fetched pretext," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday, according to TASS. "This is reminiscent of the situation in 2003, when the U.S. and the U.K., along with some of their allies, invaded Iraq without the consent of the U.N. Security Council and in violation of international law," he said.

The Kremlin said it received advance warning from the U.S. about the strikes, the Associated Press reported. The British government also said it was informed about the strikes in advance.

Iran said the U.S. action was "dangerous, destructive and violates the principles of international law.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, said Iran condemned the strikes “regardless of the perpetrators and the victims” of the chemical weapons attack in comments carried by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

One concern was how Russia and Iran would react since both countries have boots on the ground in Syria supporting the regime. Iranian militias support Assad and Russia's intervention turned the tide of the six-year-old civil war in Assad's favor.

U.S. launches cruise missile strike on Syria after chemical weapons attack

Syria's civil war: A look at how we got to this point </s> The U.S. government on April 24 announced the imposition of "sweeping sanctions" against Syrian government officials in response to what Washington says was a sarin gas attack against Syrian civilians by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in early April.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it ordered a freeze on all assets in the United States belonging to 271 employees of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC).

The sanctions also make it illegal for any American person or business to deal with those 271 individuals.

A Treasury Department statement said the SSRC was responsible for producing the chemical weapons that Washington thinks were used in the April 4 attack.

The suspected chemical attack killed 87 people, including many children, in opposition-held territory in Idlib Province.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "These sweeping sanctions target the scientific support center for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s horrific chemical weapons attack on innocent civilian men, women, and children."

He said the sanctions are a "strong message" that Washington will "hold the entire Assad regime accountable."

The United States fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield on April 7 in response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP </s> NBC News reports the United States has launched a missile strike on a Syrian military airfield.

It is believed that is where the gas attack in Syria originated from.

The death toll from the gas attack on Tuesday has killed at least 100 people so far.

According to NBC News, President Trump ordered dozens of cruise missiles to be launched Thursday night.

The missiles were meant for a single target – Ash Sha’irat in Homs province- in western Syria. </s> BEIRUT -- Missiles struck an air base in central Syria early Monday, but the Pentagon quickly denied claims from Syrian state media that the strikes were "an American aggression." A war monitoring group said Iranian-backed militia members were killed in the strikes, and Russia and then Syria accused Israeli jets of firing the missiles.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency said the missile attack on the T4 military air base in Homs province had resulted in a number of casualties. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 14 people were killed, including foreign nationals -- an allusion to Iranian, or at least Iran-backed, fighters.

Russia's allegation that two Israeli F-15s had fired a total of eight missiles at the T4 base came several hours after Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said in a statement that the "Department of Defense is not conducting air strikes in Syria."

The missile attack followed a suspected poison gas attack Saturday on the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. At least 40 people were killed, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said.

As CBS News correspondent Holly Williams reports, videos from Douma show lifeless bodies with no visible injuries, all of them apparently inside buildings, survivors struggling to breathe, many of them children. Victims are seen being washed down, apparently to remove a substance from their skin.

President Trump has promised a "big price to pay" for the suspected chemical attack and called Syrian President Bashar Assad an "animal" in tweets sent earlier Sunday:

CBS News can not independently verify the reports of a chemical attack in Syria, and the Syrian government denied the allegations, calling them fabrications.

Survivors, though, reportedly smelled of chlorine -- a chemical that can be deadly in confined spaces.

Dr. Ahmad Tarakji, of the Syrian American Medical Society, told CBS News via Skype that at his field hospital in eastern Ghouta, they "received many patients who suffered from symptoms compatible with exposure to chlorine gas -- high concentration chlorine gas."

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the accusations against Bashar Assad's regime a "provocation" and, referring to the airstrikes on the base in Homs, he added that the situation in Syria was, "becoming too dangerous" as "actors whom nobody invited" show up on the complex battlefield.

Israel's government did not confirm that it had carried out any strikes in Syria, but it has targeted Assad's forces, and their Iranian allies, inside the country before. Some Israeli media noted

Russia's Ministry of Defense said Monday that "two F-15 aircraft of the Israeli Air Force, without entering Syrian airspace, struck eight controlled missiles at the airfield." It said the missiles were fired from within Lebanese airspace, and that five of them were destroyed by Syria's air defenses before landing.

Three missiles "reached the western part of the airfield," according to the Russian military, which also has personnel in the area in support of Assad's forces. No Russian "advisers" were hit in the early morning missile strike, according to Russia.

In the statement released early Monday morning, U.S. military spokesman Sherwood said the Pentagon would "continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable."

The U.S. launched several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base in 2017 after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people. Israel has also struck inside Syria in recent years.

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

First responders said they found families suffocated in their homes and shelters, with foam on their mouths. The opposition-linked Syrian Civil Defense were able to document 42 fatalities but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave their rescuers difficulties breathing, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group, which is known as the White Helmets.

"Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!" the president wrote.

Mr. Trump later blamed his predecessor President Barack Obama for not taking action against the Assad regime earlier in the civil war.

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 demand of the government.

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

"There's nothing left for civilians and fighters. We don't have anything to stand fast," said Haitham Bakkar, an opposition activist inside the town. He spoke to the Associated Press via WhatsApp.

"People now are going out in the streets looking for their loved ones in the rubble," Bakkar said. "And we don't have any space left to bury them."

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

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

Human rights groups and United Nations 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 attack.

It's unclear what the administration's next steps are with regard to responding to the attack. In response to a similar chemical attack in April of last year, Mr. Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian military target in Shayrat, about 50 miles due south of the village that was hit in a gas attack.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he and the administration "will be reviewing with the president all different alternatives" for a response. </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.
The United States launches 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles aimed at the Ash Sha'irat air base in Homs Governorate in response to the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons in its attack on the town of Khan Shaykhun. The Government of Syria claims the attack killed six soldiers and nine civilians, including four children.