this is cnn breaking news. >> a very warm welcome to our viewers in the united states and right around the world. i'm isa soares in london. >> i'm hala gorani in beirut. we'll get back to isa with the stockholm truck attack. i want to get you up to date on the developments on the u.s. strikes on an syrian air base. the u.s. says it wants to know if russia was involved on the chemical attack that killed dozens of people including many children. the kremlin that allegations it was complicit were not true. that sfured donald trump to

launch the missile strike against the assad regime. the latest from our security correspondent, jim sciutto. as always, in the case of syrian stories, we must warn you, some of the images in his report are graphic. the u.s. military the investigating whether russia was complicit in the syrian regime's gruesome chemical weapons attack on civilians earlier this week. whether a russian war plane dropped a bomb on victims of the attack five hours later, perhaps to destroy evidence. u.s. intelligence shows that a russian drone flew over the hospital site just before the bombing. the probe comes after president trump ordered a barrage of missiles on a seyrian air base n retaliation for the deadly attack. the first u.s. military strike

against the assad regime in the bloody six-year war. u.n. ambassador nikki haley warned of further military action. >> the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. but we hope that will not be necessary. >> reporter: the target of the strikes was syria's shayrat air base, launch point for the syri syrian warplanes that carried out the attack. 50 or 60 tomahawk cruise missiles destroyed their target, including aircraft, shelters, fuel and ammunition dumps. the pentagon estimates some 20 aircraft were destroyed. video of the aftermath shows shelters standing and aircraft undamaged. u.s. missiles left the runway intact and avoied chemical

weapons storage. the march to military action took little more than 48 hours. the planning began tuesday, the day the world saw the first images of victims, many of them children, of the chemical weapons attack. on thursday before president trump sat down to dinner with the choon news president, he met with his national security team, to discuss military options, deciding to order the strike that night. at 8:45 eastern to im, the myle of the night in syria, the attack began. two u.s. warships in the mediterranean, "the uss parter" and "the uss ross," launched the missiles. trump sat through dinner, alisteni alongside the chinese president, when the attack was under way. about 30 minutes later, 9:15 eastern time, the president's national security team briefed him on the mission's results. >> we're learning a russian warship is on its way to a base

in syria. let's get paula newton in live. let's talk about the possible implications now. 36 hours out, just about, after this u.s. air strike on that syrian air base. what is going on in terms of military maneuvers here? >> well, the first thing that happened with us, the russians suspended the air safety agreement. that's the hot line, hala, that goes between the americans and the russians to keep things under control over the skies of syria. and then, the admiral dispatch is a state-of-the-art missiles. it is largely symbolic. the russians saying, it will be there for some time. it was doing exercises in the black sea. it's been to the mediterranean. it's headed back. russia could not let this go without any response whatsoever. but you can see from the nuanced response, and it is nuanced, they did not launch a missile defense that they do have on the

ground in syria. they didn't try to stop this. they want to see where the united states is going to go next. and that's the crucial question. they know that before him on the table, president trump has the options of trying to look for humanitarian corridor or look for a no-fly zone. all these things russia says all it would do is help isis gain further ground within syria. and for that reason, they say it's important that the united states, they claim, has not really had an active role in syria. all that active in the last few months. and they have to broker a deal through them. >> it's been a consistent narrative from the russian side. but rex tillerson, the new american secretary of state is headed to moscow next week. that visit is still on. we heard from the russian foreign minister, de-escalating the situation. it seems as though there's an effort on both sides to try to not let this get out of control.

>> there is. and if the russians are convinced this is likely one and done and if the americans are convinced that russia will, through back channels, tell syria, we have no idea what went on here. and we want it to stop. perhaps if there aren't provocations, they will go to the table and find the agreem t agreement. other message, the united states was not at any kind of table negotiating on syria last week. it was the russians who were out there trying to negotiate short-term cease-fires. the point is now, the united states is saying, we're back at the geneva process. we'll try and collaborate with you about how the political solution will go. that's different. just a few days ago rex tillerson said assad would likely be in power for some time. now, the rhetoric on that has changed.

>> all right. certainly unpredictable times we live in. thanks very much, paula newton, live in moscow. syria, the government of bashar al assad, calling it an erroneous american strategy. how other middle eastern countries are responding, ben wedeman in turkey with that. we had time now, about a day and a half, to digest the surprise strike on a syrian air base. regionally, what has been the reaction? is there support from the countries who oppose the regime of assad? >> reporter: the middle eastern states, three separate reactions. you have turkey, which said it was pleased with the attack on the base in syria. we had the turkish president saying it's positive but not

enough. he hopes it will be the beginning of a broader operation. now, the free syrian army, part of the more moderate opposition, told president trump, don't stop here. and you have countries like iraq and egypt, which have close ties to the united states. but also, both of them have close ties to the syrian government and are increasingly closer to russia. they condemned the use of dem c chemical weapons but called for restraint. and you have countries like iran, which condemned the missile strike. it's important to keep something in perspective here, hala. of the more than 400,000 people who have been killed in the syrian civil war that's now in its seventh year, the vast majority were killed by conventional weapons. it's interesting that the media

and there's been so much regional reaction to just a pinprick in what is a bloodbath that's been going on for a very long time. hala? >> no outrage was necessarily generated in this way when hundreds of thousands were killed with barrel bombs, as you mention. i suppose the question is, is it the belief in the region that the u.s. will or even can stop at this initial strike? or that this is opening the door for more? >>. >> reporter: i think the initial reaction among many was positive that there was a lot of frustration with the administration of barack obama. they dithered a lot. they talked a lot. at the end of the day, they didn't really do much to help the opposition in syria, compared to libya, where you had the united states and other

european countries really coming down on the side of the opposition and being the critical factor in the overthrow of moammar ghadafi. in syria, there's been a lot of hot air. a lot of talks, a lot of meetings, a lot of condemnation. but at the end of the day, it really has changed nothing. now, more than 24 hours after this strike. i think the initial enthusiasm of some is beginning to fade when they realize that the russians seem to be de-escalating the situation. we heard from jim acosta, one of our reporters in washington, that a senior administration official there is saying this strike was not the bedinning of a broad attempt to somehow overthrow or undermine or weaken the regime of bashar al assad. so, after all this smoke, i don't think there's going to be much fire. hala?

>> all right. well, we'll see how things develop. we've been surprised at every turn this week. thanks very much. ben wedeman is in southern turkey. lena, i know it's difficult, especially these days to look forward and predict what might happen. this is the first u.s. strike on syria since the crisis and then the war began. it was a small pinprick but still, it was action. do you believe it will be significant? >> it's only significant for president trump. it's only distinguished himself from his predecessor. i think this is about president trump. he wanted to say, i am a president who means what i say. and he had said, chemical weapons are not acceptable.

and he followed that with a very specific action. we should not read too much into this, as really, it's the beginning of a complete turnaround of the policy towards syria. >> right. but then, you have the government of bashar al assad. presumably they weren't expecting this because just a few days before, high-level american officials were telegraphing the message that they're fine with assad in power and the main priority is isis. this must change their calculus or not? >> it only changes the calculus in the sense that it shows that u.s. administration is not predictable. and it is capable of acting completely on its own, without waiting for u.n. security council resolutions or an international alliance. at the same time, because this

is an isolated action, this does not mean that regime of bashar al assad will suddenly recalculate all its moves in syria. the regime will probably think twice of using chemical weapons. but it will continue to use conventional weapons and it is already doing that. >> it isn't just bashar al assad, that regime. it's also their very reliable allies, iran, the group hezbollah, here in lebanon, as well. and then, you have russia, as well. when it comes to iran and hezboll hezbollah, what is likely to be their approach after the u.s. strike? >> i think there is nervousness on part of iran and hezbollah. but this has existed for a while now. and it's not to do with the west. it's more to do with what might

happen in the future because of the iranian/russia differences, in their own end games. both of them want influence. and for a while, iran was leading in terms of being the most influential external actor in syria. now, russia is playing that role. russia wants syria to be strong and influential through them. iran wants them to be weak so it can influence from the bottom-up. therefore, the russian/iranian end game is interesting in syria. it can only add to the nervousness of iran because it's another thing that means that its own interests might not quite be realized in syria. but again, we shouldn't think of this that iran is going to

change its actions or calculations in syria. it's more about changing tactics to reach this end game than about changing strategy for iran. >> reporter: right. so many players, so many proxy battles and wars going on in this one country. and so many civilians suffering as a result. linakhatib of chatham house. more from beirut in a moment. but now, isa soares from london. just ahead, as the investigation into stockholm's truck attack continues. we'll have the latest on what police know now. we'll talk to an eyewitness that was just a stone's throw away when the truck crashed. live to the swedish capital next. more on president trump's shift in policy towards syria, happening amid a rift inside the white house.

hello. i'm hala gorani in dbeirut. we're following a strike on the syrian air base. >> i'm isa soares. right now, it is morning in

stockholm where swedish police have arrested a man for friday's truck attack. he is being held on suspicion of terrorist crimes. four people were killed and 12 were injured, after a truck plowed through pedestrians. the prime minister, stefan lofven, says everything indicates it was a terrorist attack. take a listen. >> swedish authorities including police and hospitals, are doing everything they can to save lives and maintain our safety. thoughts, concerns and condolences have reached many of us from all around the world. and we are grateful for the many warm expressions of sharing our grief. we are determined never to let the values that we treasure, democracy, human rights, and freedom, to be yeaunderfinmined

hatred. >> max foster joins us from stockholm with the latest. good morning, max. what more to we know about the man whose been arrested? >> reporter: we heard he is likely the driver of the vehicle. for a long time, there was abimage we thought that police were looking for. and a man who has been arrested. some flowers being laid. this is a process that the country is going through. all of the shock of yesterday. now, turning into trablg di of what happened. just a moment ago, had a young child with his father. a military dress also laying flowers. isa, i want to point you down the street. this is skween street. and you see how nor rarrow it i. and you imagine the vehicle

coming towards us, thundering at great speed. it's a wonder, really, there weren't more people injured, more people killed out there. it would have been full of shoppers, full of tourists. but also, full of workers going to the train station. the main train station, just around the corner. if you go to the left there, you can see where the vehicle came crashing into the department store. still cordoned off, of course, with all of the damage there strewn across the streets. all pretty much in lockdown there. but that lockdown area is becoming tighter as they continue the investigation. >> like you're pointing out, max, this is central stack stockholm. you can understand how it would be bustle with residents and shopping. tell us about the security being stepped up in the area. >> reporter: around here, a lot more armed police than you would have here.

that's obvious. and the borders were strengthened last night. we're suggesting it's an ongoing investigation. we're trying the read what we can do that. they give little information in these situations. when you watch the morning tv here, the question is really where do they go from here? questions being asked of the government. should they have done more to keep the country secure? this is a liberal european nation an open european nation. the scandinavian capital where you can walk up to government buildings and walk up to the palace. if you change that, it changes what this country is about. in london or new york, you would build a wall an an area, increase the security. in this country, there's a question around that. that's what they're grappling with. >> europe waking up to new

realities. max foster in stockholm. i want to bring in christian, ten meters from the attack. he joins us on the line from stockholm. christopher, thank you for joining us on the show. tell us where you were, what you saw when it all unfolded. >> yeah. i was just done with my shopping. i was heading towards the exit. and i was maybe about ten meters away from the exit, when you hear the thunderous noise. and the wall and glass shattering and the wall coming towards us like an avalanche or a tsunami wave. moving towards us. and people around, they were screaming and panic and everyone just started running as fast as they could the ore way, just to get away. >> did you sea the truck at all? or did you just see the building

crumble? >> from the inside the department store, you could see the actual truck. but you saw the wall coming towards you. it was only when we got out of the building that you could see the truck. my initial reaction was a bomb went off or something similar. it was outside that you could see the truck sticking out of the building. flames and dark smoke. >> when you saw that, christopher, did you realize that it could be any terror-related, given that we saw just two weeks before, an attack in london and the atrocities in niece last year? >> yeah. >> most of us realized straight away, the act of terror, the way

the truck had come from, it was no way it could be an accident. the truck couldn't come from that direction. otherwise, from the get-go, we knew it was an act of terror. >> did you see police around you straight away? ambulances? talk to us about what was the surrounding area as you left the department store. >> yeah. crowds gathering outside. and the subway station is just there. and there were security guards from the subway station were the first to come up. trying to get the people away the and trying to get to the victims and look at the accident and try to assess the situation. but the police were pretty quickly there. just a few short minutes.

my feeling was that the police were there straightaway. and the security for the subway station were there really quickly. >> i'm glad to hear that you are well. thank you very much, christopher, for taking time to speak to us there. christopher, who witnessed the attack in stockholm. and, hala, as you and i well know, we covered the nice attacks. this is becoming a common occurrence throughout europe. hala? >> yes, indeed it is. westminster, just two weeks ago. nice, last year. the berlin christmas attack. we'll join isa for more on what happened in stockholm. now that the u.s. has launched a military strike against syria, what is president trump's next move? stay with us. we'll be right back.

this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm isa soares in london. >> i'm hala gorani, coming to you live from beirut, lebanon. while president trump's strike on a syrian air base represents a shift in policy to the war-torn country. from what we've heard and what we've seen, it's not a decision he took lightly. the president met with his security council several times

before authorizing the strike. the go ahead came just before his meeting with the chinese president. jeff zeleny has that story. >> reporter: president trump's biggest commander in chief moment. launching air strikes in syria. dramatically changing the tone with his meeting with xi jingping. >> the relationship developed between me and president xi is outstanding. we look forward to being together many times in the future. and i believe lots of potentially bad problems will be going away. >> reporter: meeting at his mar-a-lago resort, the president letting the missile strikes speak for themselves. >> what would you say about the strikes on syria? >> thank you very much. >> reporter: the president's decision to strike thursday evening was a turnaround in his posture towards syria. >> it is in this vital national

security interest after the united states, to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. >> reporter: white house aides said the decision unfoelded lik this. at 10:30 a.m. tuesday, the president learns of the chemical attack in syria. 3:00 p.m. wednesday, the president is briefed on options by his national security team. at 1:00 p.m. thursday, the president convening a meeting of his top advisers aboard air force one, before coming back to tell reporters this -- >> i think what happened in syria is a disgrace to humanity. and he's there and i guess he's running things. so, something should happen. >> reporter: at 4:00 p.m. thursday, after arriving at mar-a-lago, he gave an order to strike after the fourth meeting with his national security team. the most consequential decision of the young trump presidency.

chief strategist, steve bannon, demoted from his seat on the national security council, argued against the syria strike. he is increasingly at odds with jared kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, who now has a more prominent seat at the table as the behind-the-scenes photographs now. this is a departure from the america-first agenda, crafted by bannon. republicans and democrats cal d ed on the white house to explain its new stand towards syria. >> i don't think they have a policy jet. but they better have one because things are probably not going to get better in the syria area there. >> reporter: and the trump administration is crafting that policy now. also, keeping a close watch on syria. rex tillerson said the u.s. is watching to see what syria does next. if they respond or do more chemical attacks, the u.s. is likely to respond in kind. this is all testing the

president's america-first agenda. he once said syria was not the president of the united states. now, it clearly is. the ball is in his court to see what happens next. jeff zeleny, cnn, palm beach, florida. on capitol hill, congress had bipartisan agreement, demanding that president trump consult them on any further action in syria. they're split on how soon they should open that debate and whether the u.s. should launch another full-scale war in the middle east. take a listen. >> we've got choices. if you think the last eight years was a good idea, keep going it. this is only the beginning, this is a first step. if we want to succeed, we need to step-by-step, do a lot more. >> our founding fathers gave the power to declare war to congress because they want to make it difficult to go to war. this is war, by any other name.

dropping bombs on another country is war. we have to think about what are the ramifications. what may happen from this. will assad reform? will assad get worse? if assad is toppled, will be people who replace him be better or worse? >> two different views right there. joining me is silvia brelly. hearing two sides there. this was war, this was legal. nato backing trump. putting the political aside, legally, could he do this? >> u.s. law does allow the president some leeway to arespond to attacks on actions that are isolated or affect security. the question is this, was legal.

obama used it in the resolution. how far is he going to take it? is it a one-off or is he going to take it further? if he takes it further and goes on by himself without having approval from congress, that might face some legal questions. but of course, there's -- you've seen congressmen saying, you know, this is the president who is exercising his power. he's the commander in chief. he can do this. other people, across the board, saying he has to get approval. but the u.s. constitution isn't clear. between article one and two. it's not clear if it's congress that has to allow military action or the president. it comes back to the question, is this a war or a one-off attack? >> of course. many people looking at this, perhaps, they think this is controversial at all because you know, here's a man who many call a dictator, who is killing his

own people, civilians. many children, with chemical weapons. so, if by law it's about protecting human rights, doesn't that support president trump? >> well, there, the question would have to be how about when the syrian regime attacks civilians without chemical weapons? what about the attacks carried out on a daily basis? after the chemical attack, there was another attack in the early hours of this morning. how about that? is the world going to respond to chemical attacks because of the images we see and the children dying? you know, the fact that chemical weapons are supposed to be forbidden and that the syrian regime said they got rid of them. what do they do in every other case? >> with the barrel bombs. every sort of bombs. in term of, we heard different voices from the u.s., in terms of the backing.

we heard nancy pelosi saying, tonight's attack in syria is in response to the use of chemical weapons. everyone is pretty much on the same page here. but future, the u.s. administration doesn't seem to want to go further on this. we heard in the u.n., there's room for that. does this change the fact it's just a one-off? >> i mean, this could have been a way for trump to show the world his power and to warn other countries, like russia, like north korea, that the u.s. is still strong. and although america is first, at the same time, there are still military power in the world's cop. at the same time, a lot of people across the middle east, including civilians in syria and a lot of states in europe that have been gralvanized by this situation because it's bringing the situation forward from where

it's been in five years. the peace process and the u.n. weren't able to do much until now. of course, there needs to be a political solution of some sort because, you know, another war is probably not something advisable at this stage. and the u.s. cannot afford another iraq. but at the same time, what do you do? do you leave it? or are you going to use carrot and stick, depending on how he behaves going forward? and russia, as well. you have the issue of russia, too. the relations with russia have deteriorated. and in the past few weeks, this makes it more complicated. where is the u.s. going to take those relations from here? >> the relationship between the u.s. and russia as deteriorated before this. thank you very much, silvia borrelli. >> back to you. i'll continue. it wasn't all about missile strikes on thursday from president trump. what we know about his talks with china's president. that story ahead, live from bayling.

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hello. i'm isa soares in london. >> i'm hala gorani live in beirut. let's get you more reaction to the missile strike in syria. well, one thing it accomplished was that it overshadowed a meeting between president donald trump and his chinese counterpart president xi jingping. mr. repotrump was told of the ak as they finished dinner, as the missiles struck their targets. despite this, the meeti ining w well. they discussed the nuclear program and trade talks, as well. matt rivers is monitoring this story from beijing. reaction in china to the fact that the u.s. president decided to launch a military strike against syria during the visit of president xi.

did -- how was that received? >> reporter: generally speaking, they didn't talk here in china about the military strike. i was reading some state-run newspapers here in china. all they were focusing on is how well this meeting went between chin china and the united states, and between xi and trump. you think that the first time these two meet in person, it might not go in person, given what candidate trump was fond of saying about china. accusing them of unfair trade practices. and this meeting went off without a hitch, even though the president decided to make that launch while president xi was here. no one here in china was phased by it. the things discussed in order of the statement they put out, they talked about challenges that the united states sees in the way that chinese government

intervenes in its businesses, making an uneven playing field for americans, as they put it. they talked about north korea's weapons program. and they jointly agree that it's a problem. they would work together to fix it. they talked about the south china sea. they have differences in all of that. but they're working together. one last thing interesting here. way down in the statement, i can pull up the quote for you. he, talking about president trump, noted the importance of protecting human rights and other values deeply held by americans. gives you an idea of how lack -- how much less important that was to the trump administration. it's an afterthought in this statement. but china, one of the more egregious human right offenders in the world. not a big issue for the trump administration in overall importance, hala. >> matt, north korea, you said, was a main topic of discussion. and the interim president of

south korea spoke to donald trump. what was discussed on that phone call? >> reporter: they spoke on saturday morning for 20 minutes we're told, according to the south koreans. what president trump expressed to his counterpart in south korea, he told president xi when they met, the united states' position on the anti-missile defense system, t.h.a.a.d. as it's known, will be deployed throughout the year, that the united states is behind that. they explained the u.s. position to the chinese president and backing up the long-held position by the united states they're going to stand with south korea. they believe the anti-missile defense system is necessary against north korea. they're not going to be backing away from it anytime soon. >> all right. matt rivers is live in beijing. thanks very much. more from beirut in a moment. for now, isa, back to you in london. still ahead, how did graffiti lead to one of the bloodiest civil wars in the

middle east? when we return, we look back at the origins of the syrian uprising. stay with us.

welcome back. now, syrian-americans have mixed

reactions to president trump's decision to launch missiles at syria. members of a syria-christian community rallied in allentown, pennsylvania, against the strike. you can see that. some told local media they don't believe that they gassed the citizens and president trump made things worse. another syrian-american said he's glad trump ordered the strike. >> it's about time. it's about time. to get rid of this tyrant, this evil tyrant and stop him, stop those who are supporting him. syrian people have been crying and begging for such action. >> the syrian civil war is now in its seventh year with no clear end in sight. an estimated 400,000 people have lost their lives and millions have fled the country. cnn's randi kaye has our report on how it all began.

>> reporter: they call it the cradle of the revolution. this is dara, syria, a small town about 50 miles from damascus. here's where graffiti of anti-government slogans sparked the start of the syrian uprising. it was march 2011. and more than a dozen children had been arrested for drawing that graffiti. protesters demanded the release of the children and democratic reforms. [ gunshots ] it quickly turned violent, with protests spreading and syrian security forces opening fire on crowds. [ gunfire ] >> translator: it is it bombs every day and a thousand people die, this is our land and we will not leave. >> reporter: protesters targeted the government of syrian president bashar al assad.

>> translator: it's our enemies are working daily and scientifically to undermine this stability of syria. >> reporter: the regime's response was swift. a brutal crackdown, massive arrests and casualties. the president made promises that never came. >> the level of anger and passion here is palpable. we're just a few miles from the center of damascus. this is a crowd here. thank you, thank you. this is a crowd of several thousand people. they've taken over this whole area. >> reporter: the government militia continued to torture and murder their own people, using tanks in surprise raids. >> translator: i'm not the only one whose life has been destroyed or whose husband is missing. everyone in this country has a missing person or a destroyed home or is displaced. we have been through so much. we have suffered and have come to hate life because of all

these problems. >> reporter: e-mails obtained from cnn from assad's private e-mail accounts, show throughout it all, they continue to live a life in luxury. one day in february 2012, the same way opposition fighters in homs reported 200 killed, mr. assad's wife was e-mailing a friend about shoeing she liked that cost about $7,000 a pair. in another e-mail in which the first lady used the fake name alija, she contacted a london art dealer about art that cost $16,000. all this during the senseless slaughter of syrian civilians. the u.n. estimates about 400,000 syrians have been killed since the war began in 2011. as of last december, nearly 5 million syrians have fled the country. only adding to the refugee crisis in the middle east. many in syria have lost hope. >> we are not scared.

i'm not scared of the chemical weapon. does it make a difference to die with a bullet or with a chemical weapon? >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> all right. i'm hala gorani live in beirut. we'll have a lot more from lebanon after a break. >> stay right here with cnn newsroom.

. this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, i'm isa soares in london, where it is 9:00 in the morning. >> hello, i'm hala gorani. it is 11:00 a.m. if lebanon. we are covering the reaction to the u.s. strike against a syrian airbase in the aftermath of a chemical attack that the united states plams on tblames on the regime of bashar al-assad. assad denies that it has been complicit against civilians,