The attack killed at least 70 people and rebel fighters were forced to relinquish control of the town to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad shortly after.

President Donald Trump speaks about the United States' military response to Syria's chemical weapon attack on April 7.

Trump said the US was part of a joint operation with France and the United Kingdom in response to the suspected chemical gas attack from the Assad regime on a rebel-held town near Damascus last weekend. "A combined operation with the armed force of France and the United Kingdom is now underway".

He followed up by responding to a Russian threat to shoot down any U.S. missiles by saying: "Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" "We can not tolerate the normalization of the use of chemical weapons".

Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff says Saturday's strike hasn't caused any casualties and Syrian military facilities targeted by the U.S., Britain and France have suffered only minor damage.

Although Syria's military had moved aircraft and other military assets in the days preceding Friday's strike, Dunford said he did not believe it had moved chemical weapons materials.

Mr Trump said he was prepared to "sustain" the assault against Syria. "To Iran and Russian Federation I ask, what kind of nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of men women and children?"

It was an unusual strategy, a departure from the usual US practice of launching surprise attacks.

Western strikes early Saturday hit Syrian military bases and research centres in and around the capital and the country's centre.

The US-led attack is a "flagrant violation of worldwide law" which "ignores the sovereignty of Syria", the statement released by Iran's Foreign Ministry said.

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Due to the hotline, the USA said there was never a chance of direct conflict between regular American and Russian forces. Putin's defence ministry told the state run RIA news agency: "They are the guarantors of law and order in the town".

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"As our commander in chief, the president has the authority under Article 2 of the Constitution to use military force overseas to defend important, United States national interests".

"America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria under no circumstances", he said. "All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris".

"We are acting together with our American and French allies". Perhaps in preparation for a strike, Syria repositioned some of its aircraft from bases earlier in the week, a USA official told ABC News.

The Ministry of Defence said four Royal Air Force Tornados contributed to the strikes by launching Storm Shadow missiles at a former missile base 15 miles west of Homs.

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that it had proof that the "chemical attack" in Douma had been a provocation and had been staged by Western-backed NGOs, including the White Helmets.

"Clearly, the Assad regime did not get the message a year ago". The next Syrian attack - strike three - will likely produce a large-scale USA response.

Iran warned of "regional consequences" on Saturday following the wave of punitive strikes.

"This is not about intervening in a civil war".

The Prime Minister said "a significant body of information including intelligence indicates the Syrian regime is responsible" for the atrocity, which left dozens of civilians dead.