19:57
Mona Mahmood has interviewed Syrians in favor of and opposed to the joint military action.
Wael Abdullah, a 25-year-old resident of Ghouta and who had to flee to the countryside outside Aleppo, told the Guardian:
This is a great step by President Trump by which he sends a hot message to Bashar Al-Assad that he can’t continue killing his people by all kinds of weapons with the help of the Russians and Iranians. We are looking for more to get to the day that we celebrate the toppling of the Syrian regime.
He continued: “We know that these rockets will not stop Bashar and his gangsters in keeping on killing the Syrian people, but they are good to make him aware that there will be a response from now on to all his vicious acts against his innocent people.
“The best thing the US administration can do to the Syrian people is to launch an attack in cooperation with all Syrian factions who have been fighting the regime. We want an all-out war that could put an end to this tragedy. I’m sure the US president and his allies have full knowledge of what is going on Syria. They should not act just when Bashar uses chemical weapons and then leave his hand free.”
In contrast, Ayad Younis, a 35-year-old teacher in a secondary school in Damascus, said:
This is a blatant aggression against Syria, a staged drama created by the US to attack our land. It is incredible that these superpowers would get their information from social networks though they are full of lies and fabrications about the use of chemical weapons against our people in Douma.
He added: “I woke up at midnight with my wife and one year kid to the sound of the explosions. At the beginning, I thought this is thunder but when I opened the window, I found people on the roofs watching what was happening. TV news confirmed that most of the rockets were intercepted and deviated.
“I think the aim of the aggression is to achieve a moral victory for the US which considered itself a super state. If Trump threatens, then he has to fulfill his threats, that is all. This aggression changes nothing in my belief that Syria is winning. I already lost a number of my relatives in our war and these terrorists want to turn Syria to a jungle. Their malicious attempts will be foiled and they will be defeated.
“I denounce this immoral act. We have passed the most seven difficult years in the history of Syria, a couple of rockets won’t change anything on the ground, yet, will encourage us to fight for Syria.”
(CNN) The United States and Russia blamed each other Saturday for heightened international tensions after US, UK and French strikes against targets in Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons.
As leaders of the three Western allies exchanged calls declaring the strikes a success against future use of illegal munitions, the US and Russian ambassadors to the United Nations pointed fingers during an emergency session of the UN Security Council.
First look at damage on the ground in Syria
First look at damage on the ground in Syria 01:42
First look at damage on the ground in Syria
The overnight strikes hit three sites -- one in Damascus and two in Homs -- which President Donald Trump said were "associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad."
The United States remains "locked and loaded" to strike Syria again in response to new chemical attacks, said Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, who accused Russia, a key Syrian ally, of covering up for the Assad government.
"The pictures of dead children were not fake news," she told the Security Council. "They were the result of the Syrian regime's barbaric inhumanity."
But Russia failed to garner the necessary Security Council votes for a resolution condemning "the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the US and its allies in violation of international law and the UN Charter."
After the Security Council session, Haley's Russian counterpart, Vassily Nebenzia, called the day's developments "a blow to a political settlement" in the Syria crisis.
"I hope that hot heads will cool down and we can rebuild what has been destroyed," Nebenzia told reporters, adding that the United States, France and the UK had engaged in "diplomacy of mythmaking, hypocrisy and falsehoods."
Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Displaced Syrian residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, on January 31, 2014. According to the UN Envoy for Syria, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war. See how the conflict has unfolded. Hide Caption 1 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Hide Caption 2 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures An injured man lying in the back of a vehicle is rushed to a hospital in Daraa, Syria, on March 23, 2011. Violence flared in Daraa after a group of teens and children were arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations. Hide Caption 3 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Daraa on March 23, 2011. In response to continuing protests, the Syrian government announced several plans to appease citizens. Hide Caption 4 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Syrian children walk over bricks stored for road repairs during a spontaneous protest June 15, 2011, at a refugee camp near the Syrian border in Yayladagi, Turkey. Hide Caption 5 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Jamal al-Wadi speaks in Istanbul on September 15, 2011, after an alignment of Syrian opposition leaders announced the creation of a Syrian National Council -- their bid to present a united front against Bashar al-Assad's regime and establish a democratic system. Hide Caption 6 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Delegates from Arab League member states and Turkey discuss a response to the government's crackdown in Syria on November 16, 2011. Hide Caption 7 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Supporters of al-Assad celebrate during a referendum vote in Damascus on February 26, 2012. Opposition activists reported at least 55 deaths across the country as Syrians headed to the polls. Analysts and protesters widely described the constitutional referendum as a farce. "Essentially, what (al-Assad's) done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," a US State Department spokeswoman said. Hide Caption 8 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Syrian refugees walk across a field in Syria before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012. Hide Caption 9 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Rebel fighters with the Free Syrian Army capture a police officer in Aleppo, Syria, who they believed to be pro-regime militiaman on July 31, 2012. Dozens of officers were reportedly killed as rebels seized police stations in the city. Hide Caption 10 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover as a Syrian Army tank shell hits a building across the street during clashes in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo on August 17, 2012. Hide Caption 11 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Family members mourn the deaths of their relatives in front of a field hospital in Aleppo on August 21, 2012. Hide Caption 12 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A Syrian man carrying grocery bags dodges sniper fire in Aleppo as he runs through an alley near a checkpoint manned by the Free Syrian Army on September 14, 2012. Hide Caption 13 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Free Syrian Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16, 2012. Hide Caption 14 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Smoke rises over the streets after a mortar bomb from Syria landed in the Turkish border village of Akcakale on October 3, 2012. Five people were killed. In response, Turkey fired on Syrian targets and its parliament authorized a resolution giving the government permission to deploy soldiers to foreign countries. Hide Caption 15 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A Syrian rebel walks inside a burnt section of the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo hours before the Syrian army retook control of the complex on October 14, 2012. Hide Caption 16 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures An Israeli tank crew sits on the Golan Heights overlooking the Syrian village of Breqa on November 6, 2012. Israel fired warning shots toward Syria after a mortar shell hit an Israeli military post. It was the first time Israel fired on Syria across the Golan Heights since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Hide Caption 17 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo as fighting continues through the night on December 1, 2012. Hide Caption 18 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures The bodies of three children are laid out for identification by family members at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2, 2012. The children were allegedly killed in a mortar shell attack that landed close to a bakery in the city. Hide Caption 19 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A father reacts after the deaths of two of his children in Aleppo on January 3, 2013. Hide Caption 20 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in the al-Mashhad neighborhood of Aleppo on January 7, 2013. Hide Caption 21 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Rebels launch a missile near the Abu Baker brigade in Al-Bab, Syria, on January 16, 2013. Hide Caption 22 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures An aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp near the Jordanian city of Mafraq on July 18, 2013. Hide Caption 23 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures The UN Security Council passes a resolution September 27, 2013, requiring Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons. Al-Assad said he would abide by the resolution. Hide Caption 24 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Residents run from a fire at a gasoline and oil shop in Aleppo's Bustan Al-Qasr neighborhood on October 20, 2013. Witnesses said the fire was caused by a bullet from a pro-government sniper. Hide Caption 25 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Syrian children wait as doctors perform medical checkups at a refugee center in Sofia, Bulgaria, on October 26, 2013. Hide Caption 26 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures An injured man is helped following an airstrike in Aleppo's Maadi neighborhood on December 17, 2013. Hide Caption 27 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A man holds a baby who was rescued from rubble after an airstrike in Aleppo on February 14, 2014. Hide Caption 28 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A US ship staff member wears personal protective equipment at a naval airbase in Rota, Spain, on April 10, 2014. A former container vessel was fitted out with at least $10 million of gear to let it take on about 560 metric tons of Syria's most dangerous chemical agents and sail them out to sea, officials said. Hide Caption 29 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A Free Syrian Army fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade during heavy clashes in Aleppo on April 27, 2014. Hide Caption 30 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A giant poster of al-Assad is seen in Damascus on May 31, 2014, ahead of the country's presidential elections. He received 88.7% of the vote in the country's first election after the civil war broke out. Hide Caption 31 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Rebel fighters execute two men on July 25, 2014, in Binnish, Syria. The men were reportedly charged by an Islamic religious court with detonating several car bombs. Hide Caption 32 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Photographs of victims of the Assad regime are displayed as a Syrian army defector known as "Caesar," center, appears in disguise to speak before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington. The July 31, 2014, briefing was called "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy." Caesar, apparently a witness to the regime's brutality, smuggled more than 50,000 photographs depicting the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the photos, documents and testimony referenced in the report. Hide Caption 33 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Volunteers remove a dead body from under debris after shelling in Aleppo on August 29, 2014. According to the Syrian Civil Defense, barrel bombs are now the greatest killer of civilians in many parts of Syria. The White Helmets are a humanitarian organization that tries to save lives and offer relief. Hide Caption 34 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Medics tend to a man's injuries at a field hospital in Douma after airstrikes on September 20, 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A long-exposure photograph shows a rocket being launched in Aleppo on October 5, 2014. Hide Caption 36 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Rebel fighters dig caves in the mountains for bomb shelters in the northern countryside of Hama on March 9, 2015. Hide Caption 37 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Nusra Front fighters inspect a helicopter belonging to pro-government forces after it crashed in the rebel-held Idlib countryside on March 22, 2015. Hide Caption 38 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A Syrian child fleeing the war gets lifted over fences to enter Turkish territory illegally near a border crossing at Akcakale, Turkey, on June 14, 2015. Hide Caption 39 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A refugee carries mattresses as he re-enters Syria from Turkey on June 22, 2015, after Kurdish People's Protection Units regained control of the area around Tal Abyad, Syria, from ISIS. Hide Caption 40 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A sandstorm blows over damaged buildings in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of Damascus, on September 7, 2015. Hide Caption 41 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Members of a Syrian opposition group attack the headquarters of al-Assad regime forces in the Aleppo villages of Nubul and al-Zahraa on February 12, 2016. Hide Caption 42 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures This still image, taken from a video posted by the Aleppo Media Center, shows a young boy in an ambulance after an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, on August 17, 2016. It took nearly an hour to dig the boy, identified as Omran Daqneesh, out from the rubble, an activist told CNN. The airstrike destroyed his home, where he lived with his parents and two siblings. Director of the Aleppo Media Center Yousef Saddiq said Omran's 10-year-old brother, Ali, died from his injuries. Hide Caption 43 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Smoke rises after an airstrike in Aleppo on October 4, 2016. Hide Caption 44 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Arabic writing that reads "some day we will return" is seen on a bus window as civilians evacuate Aleppo on December 15, 2016. The evacuations began under a new ceasefire between rebels and pro-government forces. Hide Caption 45 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures This photo, provided by the activist Idlib Media Center, shows dead children after a suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017. Dozens of people were killed, according to multiple activist groups. The United States responded a few days later by launching between 50-60 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian government airbase. US officials said the base was home to warplanes that carried out the chemical attack. Syria has repeatedly denied it had anything to do with the attack. Hide Caption 46 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Members of the UN Security Council raise their hands on April 12, 2017, as they vote in favor of a draft resolution that condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria. Hide Caption 47 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Residents of the war-torn city of Douma break their Ramadan fast on June 18, 2017. Hide Caption 48 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A member of the Syrian pro-regime forces fires a machine gun as a comrade holds his feeding ammunition belt on November 11, 2017. It was during an advance toward rebel-held positions west of Aleppo. Hide Caption 49 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures A child receives medical treatment after a village was attacked in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region on February 25, 2018. Several people were treated for exposure to chlorine gas, opposition groups said, as airstrikes and artillery fire from the regime continued. CNN was unable to independently verify claims that chlorine was used as a weapon. Hide Caption 50 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Bodies lie on the ground in the rebel-held city of Douma, Syria, on April 8, 2018. According to activist groups, helicopters dropped barrel bombs filled with toxic gas on Douma, which has been the focus of a renewed government offensive that launched in mid-February. The Syrian government and its key ally, Russia, vehemently denied involvement and accused rebel groups of fabricating the attack to hinder the army's advances and provoke international military intervention. Hide Caption 51 of 52 Photos: Syria's civil war, in pictures Damascus skies erupt with anti-aircraft fire as the US and its allies launch an attack on Syria's capital early on April 14, 2018. US President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons. Trump says the strikes are part of a sustained military response, in coordination with France and the United Kingdom. Hide Caption 52 of 52
Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to United Nations, accused the three Western allies of undermining international peace and security and asked that copies of the UN Charter be distributed to their representatives so they can "enlighten themselves and awaken themselves from their ignorance and tyranny."
The airstrikes followed a week of threats of retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in Douma, outside Damascus, where Syrian forces have long been battling rebels.
A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strikes an "act of aggression against a sovereign state" and said they were against the UN Charter.
Assad said the airstrikes would "only increase the determination of Syria and its people to continue fighting and crushing terrorism in every inch of the country," according to Syrian state TV.
Latest developments
• François Delattre, France's ambassador to the United Nations, called for a dismantling of Syria's chemical program "in a verifiable and irreversible way," a ceasefire so that humanitarian convoys can reach Eastern Ghouta on a daily basis and a "inclusive political solution" to the conflict.
• Haley said the UK, France and the United States "acted, not as revenge" but to "deter the future use of chemical weapons by holding the Syrian regime responsible for its atrocities against humanity."
• UK Ambassador Karen Pierce told the Security Council that her country, France and the United States will pursue a diplomatic solution so long as Syria halts its chemical weapons program and destroys its weapons stockpiles, among other conditions.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the states to show restraint in "these dangerous circumstances and avoid any acts that could escalate matters and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people."
• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States and its allies had committed a "major crime" in Syria.
• NATO allies expressed their "full support" for the strikes, the alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters in Brussels, Belgium.
• The European Union foreign policy chief said the EU supported efforts to prevent the use of chemical weapons.
• Trump, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron, in separate phones calls, agreed that the military strikes had been a success.
• Members of the international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, arrived Saturday in Damascus. The team is on a fact-finding mission to the site of the Douma attack.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called on the international community "to strongly condemn this aggression," warning it would "pose a threat to international peace and security as a whole," in a statement published by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
Earlier, Assad's office tweeted a video of the Syrian President going to work Saturday, with the caption "a morning of steadfastness."
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Danny Makki, a British-born Syrian journalist in Damascus, told CNN the strikes woke up his neighborhood. "You could tell straight away that this wasn't your average Damascus nighttime battle. It was something far bigger," he said.
Still, Syrians expressed doubt the military action would change anything.
Damascus skies erupt with surface-to-air missile fire as the US, UK and France launch an attack Saturday.
"Frankly I expected a stronger strike, especially with the blasts that I heard. At least I am glad the strikes didn't attack civilian areas," said Yasser, 28, a Damascus teacher whose last name was not used for security reasons.
"I think this strike is a strong message to Assad for the chemical weapons, but I don't think Assad will change."
Firas Abdullah, a media activist recently evacuated from Ghouta, said, "It is not enough. I can describe it as -- it's just a media strike."
In a televised address Friday night announcing the strikes, Trump said he had decided to take action because last weekend's action by Assad were "not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster instead."
The strikes -- the strongest concerted action yet by Western forces in Syria -- were launched at 9 p.m. ET Friday as most of Europe and the Middle East was shrouded in darkness.
Pentagon: 'Precise, overwhelming and effective'
Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first allied strike targeted a scientific research center in greater Damascus involved in the development and production of chemical weapons.
The second site targeted was a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, while the third was a chemical equipment storage facility and important command post.
In a Pentagon briefing Saturday, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff, said the strikes would set back Syria's chemical weapons capability for years.
JUST WATCHED Pentagon says every target hit in Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pentagon says every target hit in Syria 01:35
McKenzie described the mission as "precise, overwhelming and effective," adding that "none of our aircraft or missiles in this operation were successfully engaged" by Syrian forces.
Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said the strikes "successfully hit every target" and that the allies "took every measure" to hit only the intended targets.
Syrian and Russian officials gave a different assessment of the effectiveness of Syrian air defenses.
The Syrian armed forces said 110 missiles were fired on Syrian targets and that the country's defense systems "intercepted most of the missiles, but some hit targets including the Research Center in Barzeh."
Three civilians were wounded in Homs after "several" missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defense systems, Syrian state TV said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Syria had intercepted 71 out of 103 cruise missiles launched by the US and its allies, according to the Russian Embassy in London. It said only seven missiles had reached two Syrian military airfields and that "no serious damage to infrastructure was inflicted."
Russian state news agency TASS reported that none of the missiles fired by the three Western nations struck areas near its naval and air bases in Syria. Those bases come under the protection of Russian air defense units.
UK's May: 'Not about regime change'
In a televised statement Saturday, May said UK forces had undertaken a "limited and targeted strike" and that there had been "no practicable alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."
While a full assessment has not yet been completed, "we believe that the action was successful," she said. "This was not about interfering in a civil war. And it was not about regime change."
Russia's Ministry of Defense said it believed the Western allies' action was not in retaliation for what happened in Douma but instead was a reaction to the Syrian army's "success" in liberating territory from rebels.
Iran, also a key ally of the Assad government, also condemned the strikes. "I firmly declare that the Presidents of US and France and British PM committed a major crime," Khamenei tweeted.
International response
Turkey, another important player in the Syrian conflict, said it viewed the airstrikes as "an appropriate response" to the Douma attack, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a televised speech to supporters of his political party, said that not responding would be "unthinkable."
"It's impossible for us to accept the situation that Syrian children fall into," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said all available evidence pointed to the Assad regime being responsible for the Douma attack and criticized Russia for blocking an independent investigation through the Security Council.
"The military operation was necessary and appropriate to preserve the effectiveness of the international ban on the use of chemical weapons and to warn the Syrian regime of further violations," Merkel said in a statement.
An Israeli official told CNN that the strikes enforced the red line drawn by Trump last year. In April 2017, the United States launched a military strike on a Syrian government airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians.
"Syria continues to engage in and provide a base for murderous actions, including those of Iran, that put its territory, its forces and its leadership at risk," the Israeli official said.
CNN has obtained video that reportedly shows an airstrike in Syria. Earlier President Donald Trump announced he ordered strikes on the Syrian regime in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack.
Video shows the first look at the damage on the ground after the US, France and the UK launched coordinated strikes in Syria, hitting targets associated with the Syrian regime's chemical weapons program.
