Syrian military airport 'struck by missiles' after Trump vows Assad will pay 'big price' for alleged chemical weapons attack

A military airfield in Syria has come under missile attack, the country’s state media has reported – days after the government of Bashar al-Assad was accused of launching a chemical weapons strike that left 40 dead.

At least 14 people were killed in the missile strikes on the Tiyas airport near Homs, known as T4, including some members of a Shia militia supporting the Assad regime, a monitoring group said. The Syrian state broadcaster said there had been casualties but provided no further details.

The strike came after Donald Trump threatened Syria and its allies would pay a "big price" for an alleged chemical weapons attack that aid groups said killed dozens of people in the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

But Pentagon officials and other Western allies of the US, including France, denied carrying out the attack on T4.

The Russian military said on Monday that two Israeli F-15 war planes carried out the strikes. Interfax cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying the Israeli war planes had carried out the strikes from Lebanese air space, and that Syrian air defence systems had shot down five of eight missiles fired.

Asked about the Russian statement, an Israeli military spokesman said he had no immediate comment.

Also on Sunday, Mr Trump held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. The two vowed a “strong, joint response”, according to a joint statement released by the White House.

“Both leaders strongly condemned the horrific chemical weapons attacks in Syria and agreed that the Assad regime must be held accountable for its continued human rights abuses,” it said.

“They agreed to exchange information on the nature of the attacks and coordinate a strong, joint response.”

The Reuters news agency quoted Syrian state television as saying its air defences had shot down some of the eight missiles

France, which has repeatedly said evidence of chemical use in Syria could prompt military action, responded to the alleged chemical attack by calling for a special UN Security Council meeting on Monday. The request was also signed by eight other UN Security Council members including the US and Britain.

Thomas Bossert, Mr Trump’s homeland security adviser, said on Sunday that he and the rest of the White House national security team had been in talks with the president about how to respond. Asked specifically about the possibility of a missile strike, Mr Bossert did not rule it out.

“I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” Mr Bossert told ABC. “These are horrible photos; we’re looking into the attack at this point.”

Senior Republican senator John McCain claimed that Mr Trump had "emboldened" the Syrian government to commit a suspected chemical attack on its people by signalling last week that the US planned to withdraw its troops from the country.

Opposition activists and rescuers say Saturday’s attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, killed at least 40 people.

Mr McCain said Mr Trump “responded decisively” last year by targeting a Syrian air base with cruise missiles after an alleged poison gas attack. He urged Mr Trump to respond decisively again to “demonstrate that Assad will pay a price for his war crimes”.

The medical relief organisation Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the civil defence service, which operates in rebel-held areas, said in a joint statement 49 people had been killed in the suspected gas attack.

One video shared by activists showed bodies of about a dozen children, women and men, some with foam at the mouth. "Douma city, April 7 ... there is a strong smell here," a voice can be heard saying. The reports could not be immediately verified independently.

The United States launched a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base a year ago in response to the killing of dozens of civilians in a sarin gas attack in an opposition-held town in northwest Syria. The gas attack was blamed on Assad.

US government sources said Washington's assessment of the Saturday attack was that chemical weapons were used. The EU also said evidence pointed to the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces.

A European diplomat said Western allies would work on building a dossier based on photos, videos, witness testimony and satellite images of Syrian flights and helicopters. However gaining access to samples on the ground would be difficult.

The UN Security Council will meet twice on Monday following rival requests by Russia and the United States.

UN war crimes investigators had previously documented 33 chemical attacks in Syria, attributing 27 to the Assad government, which has repeatedly denied using the weapons.

Additional reporting by Reuters