RNA - Early Friday, US warships in the eastern Mediterranean fired nearly 60 Tomahawk missiles at the Syrian Shayrat airfield in Homs province, with Pentagon claiming that it was used in a chemical weapons attack against a terrorist-held town in Idlib province on Tuesday.
Nine civilians, including four children, were killed in the US missile attack on the military airbase and the nearby villages in the southeastern countryside of Homs province.
Two missiles used in the US attack that hit Shayrat airbase killed five civilians, including three children, in addition to causing huge material damage to the houses.
Another US missile fell in al-Hamrat village, killing four civilians, including a child. Moreover, seven civilians were injured as a missile struck houses in al-Manzoul village, 4 km away from al-Shayrat airbase.
The Tomahawk missiles targeted Syrian fighter jets “and other infrastructure” at the base, according to a senior US military official with reports indicating that the missiles zeroed in on “air defenses, aircraft, hangars, and fuel.”
Russia's Defense Ministry assessed the combat effectiveness of the US cruise missile strike at the airbase in Syria as "extremely low."
According to the Russian defense department, only 23 of 59 cruise missiles fired from American destroyers have reached their targets, official representative for the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation, Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Friday.
US Attacked base used in anti-ISIS operations
The Shayrat airbase is a strategic base which has been used by Syrian and Russian forces to target ISIS terrorists. The Russians started using the airbase since 2015 with sources saying Russia reinforced the base and built additional runways before beefing up its operations there.
The attack on the airbase has infuriated Russia which has now suspended a deal with the US to prevent mid-air collisions over Syria. Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria — where Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defense missiles. Any future US strike on Syria will therefore be fraught with risks of direct confrontation with Russian forces stationed on the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the US strikes on Syria, saying they violated international law and have seriously damaged Washington-Moscow ties. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said the US missile strike violated not only international, but also US laws, said, adding that the attack “was on the brink of military clashes with Russia.”
US reinvigorating ISIS, escalating instability in Syria
The Syrian army has issued a statement saying, the attack makes the US a “partner” of ISIS, al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations that have sought since day one of the war on Syria to attack points of the Syrian army and the Syrian military bases.
The illegal US aggression on Syria been carried out using a false pretext and unsubstantiated claims and this will only escalate the conflict in the war weary. The attack on the strategic airbase has provided yet another lifeline to ISIS and other Takfiri terrorist groups which have over the recent past suffered heavy losses in the hands of Syrian forces. US president Donald Trump has ordered the attack of an airbase which has played a crucial role in combating international terrorist groups especially ISIS and this goes against Washington’s claims of being part of the global war on terror.
Therefore, by attacking Shayrat airbase, the US seeks to alter the balance of power in Syria which was rapidly shifting towards the government of President Bashar al Assad while foreign-backed terrorists have been losing ground. Certainly, the US aggression on Syria seeks to maintain the military aspect of the country conflict and disrupt the peace process which was making slow progress in Geneva and Astana.
Indeed, hours after the illegal US strike on the strategic Shayrat airbase, ISIS terrorists launched a major offensive to gain control of strategic oil areas near Palmyra, but failed. Earlier, unnamed sources reported ISIS had launched a massive offensive in the eastern part of the Homs Governorate and, without essential air support from the Shayrat airbase, the situation could worsen any moment. Therefore, the illegal US aggression on Syria has only served to boost ISIS and other terrorist groups which were on the brink of complete defeat by Syrian forces.
847/940
Source: Alwaght