US Strikes to Syria destroyed 20% of operation jets
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WASHINGTON: The US strike on a Syrian air base destroyed a fifth of the Damascus regime's remaining warplanes, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Monday as Washington fired a fresh salvo of warnings at President Bashar al-Assad.
The public assessment of Friday's missile strike and the forceful rhetoric came as G7 ministers met in Italy to send a "clear and coordinated" message to Russia over its support for Damascus.
The United States on Friday blasted 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat air base near Homs, which the Pentagon said Assad's jets had used to launch a deadly chemical attack on rebel-held Idlib province.
"The United States will not passively stand by while Assad murders innocent people with chemical weapons, which are prohibited by international law and which were declared destroyed," Mattis said in a statement, noting that 20 percent of Assad's "operational" aircraft were destroyed.
"The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons," he added. (APP)
