Syria air strikes: UK backs Donald Trump's cruise missile strike in response to Assad's chemical attack which killed 72 civilians

No10 spokeswoman: 'The UK Government fully supports the US action'

Britain has backed an overnight US strike on a Syrian military base which Donald Trump claims was the launch site for a devastating chemical attack on civilians.

Downing Street offered its full support to President Trump after the surprise barrage of 59 cruise missiles in the early hours of Friday, UK time.

The US Navy's attack was aimed at weapons bunkers and aircraft inside the Syrian military base and was the first direct US attack on Bashar Assad's Syrian government.

A Syrian official said the attack killed three soldiers and two civilians while seven others were wounded.

State TV called the attack an act of "aggression".

Speaking from Florida, US President Donald Trump delivered an emotional message to the public in which he evoked images of children dying.

Mr Trump said: " Using a deadly nerve agent, 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 very barbaric attack.

"Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

"It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

Launched: The USS Ross fires a Tomahawk land attack missile from the Mediterranean Sea during the attack on the Syrian air base

As Brits woke up to the news of the missile strike, a spokeswoman for Number 10 said: “The UK Government fully supports the US action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks."

It comes as the UK and France were calling for diplomatic action over the use of chemical weapons and the government had played down the prospect of military strikes.

One of the missiles fired from destroyer USS Porter travels towards its target
EPA

The Tomahawk missiles, launched from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea, targeted airstrips, hangars, control towers and ammunition areas in Sharyat, central Syria, according to officials.

At least 72 people, including 20 children, were killed by a suspected mixture of chlorine and a nerve agent in an attack in the largely opposition-held Idlib province on Tuesday.

Response: Tomahawks were fired from guided missile destroyers USS Porter, pictured, and the USS Ross during the US strike on a Syrian air base
US Navy/AP

Mr Trump said the latest action was in the "vital national security interest", adding that the US must "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons".

He also called for other "civilised nations" to join efforts "seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria".

A US satellite image shows the Shayrat air base which was blasted.
AP

Reacting to the news on Friday, Russia - which is Syria's most powerful ally - called the US air strike an act of "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law".

A US Department of Defence statement on Friday said Russia was told in advance about the strike.

An image released by the US showing the impact crater after Syria's alleged chemical weapons attack
Reuters

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the strike was a "proportional response to Assad's heinous act".

It succeeded in "reducing the Syrian government's ability to deliver chemical weapons" by severely damaging or destroying aircraft, according to initial indications, he added.

Britain had been leading renewed calls for diplomatic action in response to the earlier chemical attack.

How did the US launch the rockets?

The US Navy fired the missiles from destroyers which were positioned in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Two cruise destroyers were used, the USS Porter and USS Ross, to launch 59 land attack missiles.

In the past, the USS Porter (DDG-78) has launched Tomahawk missiles during the Iraq war as well as sinking two pirate boats off the coast of Somalia in 2007.

The USS Ross missile destroyer is slightly older, being launched in 1996. Its weapons include antisubmarine rockets, torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

Earlier on Wednesday, Downing Street had played down the prospect of military action, insisting "nobody is talking" about an armed response to the atrocity.

Syrian state TV went on to report missile attacks on a number of military targets, calling them an act of "aggression" which had led to "losses".

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the strike was a "proportional response to Assad's heinous act".

It succeeded in "reducing the Syrian government's ability to deliver chemical weapons" by severely damaging or destroying aircraft, according to initial indications, he added.

Secretary of state Rex Tillerson said Russia had "failed" to deliver its commitment to secure Syria's chemical weapons, saying it had been either complicit or "simply incompetent".

Major Jamil al-Saleh, a Syrian opposition commander whose district has been hit by chemical weapons, welcomed the US attack and hopes it will be a "turning point" in the six-year civil war.

The Syrian Coalition opposition group also backed the move, with senior official Ahmad Ramadan urging Mr Trump to "hit the snake's head".

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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