Syria strikes - as it happened: Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons capability 'set back for years' by bombing, Pentagon says
Theresa May warns of further strikes if regime uses poison again
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Joint air strikes by the US, UK and France have set back Syria’s chemical weapons capability “for years”, the US military said.
Cruise missiles were fired at three sites in response to what Theresa May called the “despicable and barbaric” attack in Douma last week that is believed to have killed up to 75 people.
Ms May said Bashar al-Assad could face even further strikes if chemical weapons are used again - and the US warned that they were "locked and loaded" if poison used again.
US President Donald Trump declared “mission accomplished” after more than 100 missiles were collectively launched in the early hours of the morning.
During telephone conversations on Saturday afternoon, Ms May, Mr Trump and Emmanuel Macron all agreed that the military strikes in Syria "had been a success".
Downing Street published a document setting out why it believes military action against the Syrian regime was legal after Jeremy Corbyn described the action as legally questionable.
The Russian embassy in the US said it had warned that such actions would "not be left without consequences", adding that insulting President Vladimir Putin was "unacceptable and inadmissible".
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Russia and Syria claimed most of the missiles, numbering about 110, were intercepted, while the Pentagon said Syrian defences had “no effect” on the operation.
Mr Assad, backed also by Iran, said on Saturday the bombings would increase his country’s resolve to “fight and crush terrorism”.
Ms May said she had authorised British forces to conduct precision strikes against Syria to help degrade its chemical weapons capability.
“This is not about intervening in a civil war. It is not about regime change,” Ms May said in a statement. “It is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.”
RAF Tornado jets bombed a chemical weapons facility 15 miles outside Homs, the Ministry of Defence said.
Russia warned of “consequences” for the US-led military strikes, saying the use of missiles on suspected chemical weapons assets were an insult to Vladimir Putin.
“A pre-designed scenario is being implemented,” Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in a statement. “Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.”
Earlier, Russia’s military claimed to have evidence that Britain had “direct involvement” in staging the suspected chemical attack in Syria, a charge quickly condemned as “grotesque” by the UK.
Humanitarian volunteers were “seriously pressured” by the UK to speed up plans for a “provocation” in eastern Ghouta, Moscow’s defence ministry suggested.
Britain’s ambassador to the UN condemned the “blatant lie” as “the worst piece of fake news we’ve yet seen from the Russian propaganda machine”.
Later, a spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said: “These accusations from Moscow are just the latest in a number of ludicrous allegations from Russia, who have also said that no attack ever happened.
“This simply shows their desperation to pin the blame on anyone but their client: the [President Bashar] Assad regime
It comes as Russia and the United States traded fresh blows during the latest round of talks at the UN Security Council and amid warnings that the world is at risk of “full-blown military escalation”.
The State Department said the United States has proof at “a very high level of confidence” that the Syrian government of Mr Assad carried out the attack but is still working to identify the mix of chemicals used.
“Syria is responsible. We are all in agreement,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.
Additional reporting by agencies
Theresa May has warned that the West has the resolve to take further military action if chemical weapons are used again in the Syrian civil war.
The Prime Minister said the regime of Bashar al-Assad should be “under no doubt” that additional strikes would come if it tried to deploy the toxic weapons in the future.
After Britain joined the US and France in the first wave of strikes, the government released the legal case it says it has for them. Read it in full here:
Our exclusive survey shows that only a quarter of Britons backed May's decision to launch air strikes in Syria.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the air strikes in Syria, but he warned that Iran’s presence in the country further endangered it.
He said: “Early this morning, under American leadership, the United States, France and the United Kingdom demonstrated that their commitment is not limited to proclamations of principle.”
Mr Netanyahu added that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad must understand that “his provision of a forward base for Iran and its proxies endangers Syria”.
Theresa May has spoken on the telephone to a number of global leaders - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM explained that the action the UK has taken with our American and French allies was limited, carefully targeted and designed to alleviate humanitarian suffering, degrade the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deter their use in the future."
He added: "All of the leaders agreed with the Prime Minister on the importance of restoring the international norm that the use of chemical weapons is never acceptable."
The US embassy in Syria has made comments on social media following the US-led airstrikes on the country.
Donald Trump has thanked Theresa May for her support in the military action, the White House has said.
A spokesman said: "The President and the Prime Minister affirmed that our recent airstrikes in Syria in response to the April 7 chemical weapons attack on the besieged enclave of Douma were successful and necessary to deter their further use."
A useful round-up, via the Press Association, of the day in soundbites:
Theresa May - "We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised - either within Syria, on the streets of the UK or elsewhere."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - "Bombs won't save lives or bring about peace."
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon - "Syria's use of chemical weapons is sickening - but the question that the PM has not answered is how this action, taken without parliamentary approval, will halt their use or bring long-term peace."
French president Emmanuel Macron - "The red line has been crossed."
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general - "I am not saying that the attacks last night solved all problems but compared to the alternative to do nothing this was the right thing to do."
British ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce, when asked during a press conference whether military intervention in Syria was legal - "Yes, we are certain, but thank you for asking."
US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley - "The United States is locked and loaded [to strike again]."
US President Donald Trump - "Mission accomplished."
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