The United States on President Donald Trump’s orders, launched an airstrike Thursday on a Syrian government airbase in response to an attack that killed dozens of civilians earlier this week.

US warships launched 50-60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the airbase that was home to the warplanes that carried out the attacks on the chemical weapon factory, US officials said.

“Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the air field in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.” Trump said during short remarks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago.

“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 UN Security Council. Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically.”

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