The United States has launched more than 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria. US President Donald Trump he stated he ordered the strike, reiterating claims that the Syrian government was behind the chemical attack in the province of Idlib.

U.S. defense officials tell Fox News that two warships based in the eastern Mediterranean, the USS Porter and the USS Ross, have been training for the past two days to execute this mission.

According to the American side, “there are Russians at the base,” but said they had been warned “multiple times” to leave. He did not know whether Russian aircraft were at the base when the missiles hit.

“The strike was a proportional response to Assad's heinous act,” Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said. “The strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.”