This Article is From Apr 15, 2018

Over 100 Missiles Fired At Syria, Russia Calls Emergency Session Of UN Security Council: Highlights

US-led forces launched strikes on Syrian regime a week after an alleged chemical attack.

Over 100 Missiles Fired At Syria, Russia Calls Emergency Session Of UN Security Council: Highlights

Syria Strikes: US-led forces launched strikes a week after an alleged chemical attack. (AFP)

US-led forces carried out a wave of air strikes against Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime on Saturday in response to alleged chemical weapons attacks that President Donald Trump branded the "crimes of a monster." As US President Donald Trump embarked on a White House address to announce the action -- taken in defiance of Russia's threat to respond -- explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus, signalling a new chapter in a brutal seven-year-old civil war. Syrian state media slammed Western strikes on Saturday as illegal and "doomed to fail," after the US, France, and Britain launched a joint operation against the Damascus government.

According to AFP, several consecutive blasts were heard at 4:00 am (0100 GMT), followed by the sound of airplanes overhead. Smoke could be seen rising from the northern and eastern edges of the capital.
 

Here are the highlights on US-led strikes in response to Syria's chemical attack:

Apr 14, 2018 19:04 (IST)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Vows To "Crush Terrorism" (File photo)
"This aggression will only make Syria and its people more determined to keep fighting and crushing terrorism in every inch of the country," Assad in his first reaction to the strikes, told Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.
Apr 14, 2018 18:32 (IST)
"Mission Accomplished": Donald Trump Praises Syria Strikes By US And Allies
President Donald Trump on Saturday praised the pre-dawn strikes against Syria carried out jointly by the US, Britain and France, saying they "could not have had a better result."
Apr 14, 2018 18:07 (IST)
Western air strikes on Syria could let terrorism expand: Iraq
Apr 14, 2018 18:06 (IST)
Donald Trump says Syria strikes 'could not have had a better result' : AFP

Apr 14, 2018 14:49 (IST)
France says it has 'solid intelligence' Syrian regime behind chemical attack
Apr 14, 2018 14:41 (IST)
Russia May Consider Supplying S-300 Missile Systems To Syria
Russia may consider supplying S-300 missile systems to Syria and other countries, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi said on Saturday after U.S., French and British air strikes on Syria."
Apr 14, 2018 14:29 (IST)

A Syrian woman carries the portrait of President Bashar al-Assad, as she gathers at the Umayyad Square in Damascus
Apr 14, 2018 13:25 (IST)
Russia calls emergency session of UNSC over strikes: Kremlin
Russia said it was calling an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council over Western strikes on Syria. "Russia is calling an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the aggressive actions of the US and its allies," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Apr 14, 2018 13:23 (IST)
Theresa May Will Update Parliament On Syria Strikes: UK Defence Minister
British Prime Minister Theresa May needed to act with speed when she ordered a missile attack on Syria and she will update parliament on Monday, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told BBC radio."
Apr 14, 2018 11:29 (IST)
What we know
  • US, British and French "naval and air assets" took part in the strikes
  • Strikes were aimed at "chemical weapons infrastructure" in Syria
  • A scientific research facility in Damascus, a chemical weapons storage facility west of the city of Homs and a third location that contained both a command post and a chemical weapons equipment storage facility in the same area were among the targets
  • The US reportedly used B-1 bombers in the strikes, but the American military declined to provide specifics.
  • Syria fired surface-to-air missiles in response to the attacks 
  • Russia's foreign ministry said the strikes came as Syria -- which has been wracked by seven years of civil war -- had "a chance of a peaceful future
Apr 14, 2018 10:47 (IST)
Over 100 missiles fired at Syria, 'significant number' intercepted: Russian defence ministry
Apr 14, 2018 10:47 (IST)
Israel says US-led strikes have enforced Syria red line
US-led strikes in Syria have enforced a red line set for President Bashar al-Assad on the use of chemical weapons, an Israeli official said on Saturday.

"Last year, President Trump made clear that the use of chemical weapons crosses a red line. Tonight, under American leadership, the United States, France and the United Kingdom enforced that line," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Syria continues to engage in and provide a base for murderous actions, including those of Iran, that put its territory, its forces and its leadership at risk," the official said.
Apr 14, 2018 10:30 (IST)
Russian Lawmaker: US Strikes On Syria Violate International Law
US, British and French air strikes on Syria are a violation of international law and are likely meant to prevent investigators from the global chemical weapons watchdog from doing their work, a senior Russian lawmaker was quoted by Interfax as saying on Saturday."
Apr 14, 2018 10:21 (IST)
Iran warns of 'regional consequences' of Syria strikes
Apr 14, 2018 08:45 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 08:43 (IST)
US-Led Strikes Hit Bases Around Syria Capital, Centre: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Western strikes early Saturday hit Syrian military bases and research centres in and around the capital and the country's centre, a monitor said, as the US, France, and Britain announced a joint operation."
Apr 14, 2018 08:33 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 08:32 (IST)
Key Quotes From Donald Trump's Address On Syria
President Donald Trump late Friday announced the launch of a joint US-British-French operation targeting Syria's "criminal" regime in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack that he called a "significant escalation" in the crisis."
Apr 14, 2018 08:31 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 08:30 (IST)
Syria Says Joint Attack 'Flagrant Violation,' 'Doomed To Fail'
Syrian state media slammed Western strikes on Saturday as illegal and "doomed to fail," after the US, France, and Britain launched a joint operation against the Damascus government."
Apr 14, 2018 08:29 (IST)
Syria and its allies Russia and Iran lambasted the air strikes as a breach of international law and said the attack had targeted army depots in the Homs area.

"The tripartite aggression is a flagrant violation of international law," state news agency SANA said.

Russia has warned of 'consequences' after US-led strikes on Syria.
Apr 14, 2018 08:11 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 08:05 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 08:04 (IST)
The strikes were the biggest intervention by Western powers against Assad in the country's seven-year-old civil war and pitted the United States and its allies against Russia, which itself intervened in the war in 2015 to back Assad.
Apr 14, 2018 08:01 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:59 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:58 (IST)
No additional attacks planned in Syria, says Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis
Apr 14, 2018 07:53 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:52 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:49 (IST)
Western Strikes Hit Bases, Chemical Research Centres Around Damascus: Monitor
Syria's air defence systems activated early Saturday, state television reported, as US President Donald Trump announced a joint operation had been launched against the Damascus government."
Apr 14, 2018 07:49 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:46 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:46 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:43 (IST)
No reports of US losses in Syria operation, says Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis
Apr 14, 2018 07:39 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:39 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:38 (IST)
Syria Attack: France's Macron Says 'Cannot Tolerate Normalisation Of Chemical Weapons' In Syria
French President Emmanuel Macron said late Friday that France had joined the US and Britain in an ongoing operation against Syria with strikes to target "the capacities of the Syrian regime to produce and use chemical weapons"." 
Apr 14, 2018 07:34 (IST)
Four Tornado jets fired Storm Shadow missiles "at a military facility -- a former missile base -- some fifteen miles west of Homs, where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapon precursors," Britain's defence ministry said in a statement.
Apr 14, 2018 07:33 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:31 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:31 (IST)
Several huge explosions were heard in Syria's capital early Saturday, AFP's correspondent there said, as US President Donald Trump announced strikes on the country were under way.
Apr 14, 2018 07:30 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:29 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:25 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:23 (IST)
Apr 14, 2018 07:12 (IST)
British PM Theresa May said she had authorised British armed forces "to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capability."

The military action is not about intervening in Syria's civil war or changing its government, she said.
Apr 14, 2018 07:12 (IST)
The operation by the three allies came after a poison gas attack in Syria that killed at least 60 people last week.
Apr 14, 2018 07:11 (IST)
Donald Trump said a combined operation with France and Britain was under way and that they were prepared to sustain the response until Syria stopped its use of chemical weapons.
Apr 14, 2018 07:09 (IST)
A second witness said the Barzah district of Damascus had been hit in the strikes. Barzah is the location of a major Syrian scientific research centre.
Apr 14, 2018 07:08 (IST)
At least six loud explosions were heard in Damascus and smoke was seen rising over the Syrian capital, news agency Reuters said.
Apr 14, 2018 07:06 (IST)
The United States is using Tomahawk cruise missiles in its strikes in Syria, and taking aim at multiple targets in the country, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday, without disclosing whether U.S. aircraft were also involved in strikes.
Apr 14, 2018 07:05 (IST)
President Donald Trump announced late Friday that a joint US-British-French operation had been launched on Syria, targeting the "criminal" regime of Bashar al-Assad and saying an alleged chemical attack had marked a "significant escalation."

"A short time ago, I ordered the United States armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad," Trump said in a primetime televised address to the nation.

A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way. We thank them both. This massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime."
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