Strikes in Syria

President Trump announced on Friday night that he has directed the United States military, along with France and the United Kingdom, to conduct precision strikes against Syria. This was done in response to the chemical weapon attacks by Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, that left dozens of civilians dead.

Syria denies any chemical use and says that attack was fabricated by rebels. The wave of strikes represents the most significant attack against President Bashar al-Assad's government by Western powers in seven years of Syria's civil war.

On early Saturday, the United States conducted airstrikes on three targets in and around Damascus, Syria’s capital. The goal was to destroy the government's chemical weapons facilities. Soon after the attack, President Trump declared a victory in the largest application of military force he has ordered with a tweet that read, “Mission accomplished!”. He warned the Syrian government not to continue the use of chemical weapons and that the U.S. is "locked and loaded" to strike again if they choose to carry out more attacks.

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday rejected a Russian-sponsored resolution condemning “aggression” by the United States and its allies, France and Great Britain, after the trio launched the military strikes in Syria to punish the president for suspected attacks against civilians.