The United States military launched over 50 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield on Thursday night in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.
American officials believe the airfield, located in Ash Sha'irat, was used by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to launch a chemical weapons attack on Tuesday that killed at least 100 noncombatants, according to NBC News.
Fifty-nine Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched at the airfield from two American naval vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, hitting the runway, aircrafts, and more infrastructure. Syria claimed that at least six people were killed.
President Donald Trump, United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had all made comments explaining that some measure needed to be taken against the Syrian regime in response to the repeated chemical attacks targeting civilians.
"We feel that the strike itself was proportional, because it was targeted at the facility that delivered this most recent chemical weapons attack," Tillerson told reporters. "There was a thorough examination of a wide range of options, and I think the president made the correct choice and made the correct decision."
In a taped statement Thursday night, Trump commented on the strike.
"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," Trump said.
"There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention, and ignored the urging of the U.N. Security Council," he continued. "Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically."