Iran condemns U.S. air strike in Syria, Britain, Australia give support

Apr. 07, 2017, 9:00 am

By REUTERS

U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducts strike operations while in the Mediterranean Sea which U.S. Defense Department said was a part of cruise missile strike against Syria on April 7, 2017. Ford Williams/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

EMAIL

Britain fully supports the U.S. military strike against a Syrian airfield from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched, a government spokesman said on Friday.

"The UK government fully supports the U.S. action which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime and is intended to deter further attacks," the spokesman said.

In a sharp escalation of the U.S. military role in Syria, two U.S. warships fired dozens of cruise missiles from the eastern Mediterranean Sea at the airbase controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in response to the poison gas attack in a rebel-held area on Tuesday.

Australia PM says U.S. strike on Syrian base "proportionate, calibrated”

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday he supported the U.S. air strike on a Syrian airbase, calling it a "proportionate and calibrated response".

In a televised statement, he also called on Russia to play its part in bringing peace to Syria.

Saudi Arabia says fully supports U.S. military strikes in Syria

Saudi Arabia said on Friday it "fully supports" U.S. strikes on military targets in Syria, saying it was a "courageous decision" by President Donald Trump in response to the use of chemical weapons against civilians.

"A responsible source at the foreign ministry expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's full support for the American military operations on military targets in Syria, which came as a response to the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians...," a statement carried by state news agency SPA said.

The statement praised what it described as "the courageous decision" by Trump and said it holds the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responsible for the military strikes.

Russian lawmaker: U.S. air strikes on Syria are political double standards - RIA

Air strikes by the United States on a Syrian air base show Washington is guilty of political double standards, the RIA news agency cited Yury Shvitkin, deputy head of the Russian lower house of parliament's defence committee, as saying on Friday.

He said the United States was using the Islamic State militant group as a tool for its own geopolitical interests.

Iran condemns US strike against Syrian airbase - ISNA

Iran said it strongly condemned U.S. missile strikes against a Syrian airbase, the Students News Agency ISNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying on Friday.

"Iran strongly condemns any such unilateral strikes ... such measures will strengthen terrorists in Syria ... and it will complicate the situation in Syria and the region," ISNA quoted Bahram Qasemi as saying.

Syrian monitor says at least four soldiers killed at airbase

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least four Syrian soldiers including a senior officer were killed in a U.S. missile attack that had almost completely destroyed a Syrian airbase near Homs city.

The Syrian military could not immediately be reached for comment on the report by the British-based group, which said its report was based on its own sources. The Observatory said dozens of members of the Syrian military had been wounded in the attack.

The Observatory said Sukhoi 22, Sukhoi 24, and Mig 23 warplanes had operated from the base. It said the officer killed was a general.