US launches missile strike against Syria

A file picture taken in 2014 shows a Tomahawk cruise missile being launched from the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, in the Red Sea. Photo: Reuters.

PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike against Syria on Thursday in retaliation for a chemical attack with a sarin-like nerve agent which Washington blames on President Bashar al-Assad.

A White House official said 59 precision-guided missiles hit Shayrat Airfield in Syria, where the United States believes Tuesday’s deadly attack was launched. The official had earlier given the number of missiles involved as 70.