. 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, the attack spurred the u.s. to

attack the airbase if central syria. it was a missile launch. 59 tomahawk missiles hitting that airbase. barbara starr has more on how it unfolded. >> reporter: this was the message president trump wanted to send to bashar al-assad, attack with the chemical weapons, the u.s. will attack you back. 59 cruise missiles striking the syrian airbase, the u.s. says was used to launch aircraft, killing men, women and children tuesday with a nerve agent-filled bomb. the pentagon said the strikes severely degraded or destroyed their intended targets, which included aircraft and aircraft shelters, fuel and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers and air defense systems. >> the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. >> reporter: but this was also a

message to moscow, which denies the syrian chemical attack even happened. to justify an armed action, washington has entirely twisted what happened. the american side cannot understand the syrian government troops did not use chemical weapons there. damascus simply does not possess it. >> reporter: many of these people died of asphyxiation from what is believed to be seren gas. the u.s. says it will investigate any possibility of russia complicity, including russian troops were at the airbase where this russian drone captured the after attack of the u.s. attack. did the russians know anything about the chemical bombing? was eight russian warplane that later bombed a hospital, treating victim itself, perhaps trying to destroy evidence? and after years of regime chemical attacks, u.s. military official say they will work

aggressively to monitor syrian programs with russian involvement. the pittsburgh showed it had proof to justify the limited u.s. strike t. track of the syrian planes and imagery of where the nerve agent bomb hit t. syrian mill they were denied using chemical weapons, blameing terrorist groups. >> this condemnable u.s. aggression confirms the continuation of the flawed u.s. strategy and it undermines the process of combating terrorism. >> reporter: the u.s. military have no intention of destroying the air field. it wasn't their goal. so the question now is, how soon will all of that be back up and running and will the russians return? barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> well, syria is calling the u.s. missile strike an erroneous american strategy. ben wedeman is in turkey with the regional response and first, from turkey, where you are, obviously, the turkish

government, president erdogan making secrets over many, many years that they would like to see assad step down, they want no-fly zones, safe areas, it is a belief that this strike this change any of that, get them more of what they want? >> reporter: initially the reaction of turkish leaders was quite positive to the strike, but they or they said they are hoping this isn't a one-off thing. this it is the beginning of a broader attempt to change the regime in damascus, but i think the more they see exactly what happened and they hear the statements coming out of washington, the realization may be donning that this was simply a warning strike on the syrians and that there is no intention to actually change anything fundamentally on the ground. we we heard from senior u.s. officials that this was, that

this is not, the missile strike on the airbase near homs was not a part of a broad effort to undermine or weaken the regime of bashar al-assad and many others were hoping that this was the beginning of something bigger. the free syrian army, the so-called moderate armed opposition through bashar and assad put out a statement telling president trump, don't stop here but all indications are at this point allow, that they are stopping here. >> but what kind of damage did the strike -- we are talking 59 tomahawk missiles, a very expensive strike, but there are unconfirmed reports, for instance, that because the runway ran hit that, in fact, aircraft can take off from that airbase. really what kind of damage did the really do to the syrian government's air power

capability? report. well, i think there was some damage to the syrian government's ego, but in terms of the air strip, itself, we understand that the runway is still functional. the syrian observatory for human rights, which does provide some information on goings on in opposition-held syria and parts of the country, not always reliable, has said that the runway was actually used for airstrikes on isis positions near pal myra, so if the runway is running, the damage may have been limited. as i said it perhaps partially for political domestic consumption in the united states, partially to send a message to bashar and assad, don't use chemical weapons again. as i mentioned an hour ago, hala, of the more than 400,000

people killed in the war in syria, less than 1%, well less than 1% were actually killed by chemical weapons and the world certainly didn't move when all of those people were being killed. chemical weapons obviously has a scare factor. many times more than a barrel bomb. but i think for many of the seve syrians who have lived under the danger of barrel bombs and other forms of regime violence doesn't really make any difference. the united states the world is outraged that the use of chemical weapons, largely indifferent to the hundreds of thousands slaughtered by conventional weapons. hala. >> yeah, that's the sentiment we hear quite a bit here in this rejudge. thank you so much, ben wedeman in turkey. what about russia? this is the first time russia strikes since the uprising, is this telling russia, listen, you

are not the only player in the game, is it putting the regime on notice in a way that would perhaps make russia act differently towards this government that it has supported for so many years? . likely now the president donald trump is saying, look if i have to, if chemical weapons are used, i will make, even if its symbolic, i will intervene militarily. does this change how russia, itself, is intervening militarily inside syria in. >> reporter: well, the russians are hoping that it doesn't have to change, heather, intervening militarily. that's the thing. they are hoping this is short and sharp as i have been saying that it is done now and that the united states will noter fear any longer, russia maintaining you know that look what we we heard from barbara starr's reporting, they say it is simply not true, that the government had nothing to do with that

attack that russia was nor complicit or competent. they say what they demand is an independent investigation. you and i know there is no referee or independent arbiter will convince united states and russia what truly happened on the ground. they will dispute that for some time on the ground. with rex tillerson coming here, what they're trying to do, both of them to understand what do you want from syria? in syria, what is the end game? that was one thing for the trump administration last week. it's now something else it appears, that's what the russians want to know. >> are you saying in moscow there is a bit of confusion there, as far as the motivation of the trump administration might be with regards to syria, they don't know exactly what to expect or where they are positioned on this? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. because they are hearing lots of things and our own reporting, hala, it turns out president

trump in an off the briefing that was made on the record even before the holiday when he was inaugurated that syria bothered him, it was on his mind. then we we heard from nikki haley and rex tillerson, look, as far as they were concerned, the government in place in syria right now would stay for the foreseeable future. russia is taking all of this in as well and thinking, okay, is rex tillerson going to come to the table next week and say we want to see humanitarian corridors? we want to see what we can do in a no-fly zone? russia doesn't want any of this, in the last few months they really took up the political vacuum left for the united states and they can keep harping on isis and they're saying any kind of division between the united states and russia in terms of what happens in syria that isis will be able to exploit that division and you know, hala, as well as anyone that is, in fact, true, that isis, they still have a

formidable battle ahead with isis if syria. really, what's happening next week has a lot to do with how that battle goes forward in the months to come. >> all right. thanks very much, paula newton live in moscow. we'll have a lot more coverage from right here in beirut a little better. isa, back to you. >> thank you, on capitol hill, the u.s. congress had a bipartisan agreement on friday demanding president trump consult them on any further action in syria. they are split whether the u.s. should launch any full scale war in the middle east. take a look. >> we got choices. if you think the last eight years were a good idea, then let's keep doing it. if you don't, then we ought to back the president, but also recognize this is the beginning. this is only the first step. if we want to succeed, we're going to have 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 and 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? and will assad reform? will assad get worse? if assad is toppled, will the people that replace him be bet were than assad or worse than assad? >> joining us now is the chair with the london school of economics, thank you very much nor jo for joining us on the show. i guess back to senator mccain's point it depends on what the policy is. he's saying you won't have any real effect more needs to be done. we do not know what president trump's strategy is in syria, do we? >> we don't. there is no political strategy. there is no clarity. donald trump hasnut not put on the table ideas, no strategic division, no political landscape t. big question really has the

following. does the american military strike limited and targeted one air field, does it really present a turning point in donald trump's approach towards syria? so far, even european diplomats, even the u.s. special representative keep complaining about the lack of ideas, the lack of clarity and my take on it is that i don't think we will see any sustained diplomatic engagement on the part of the donald trump administration and if so, obviously this particular attack will not have made any difference on the battlefield. >> well, it might be quite hard too now because we know the relations between the u.s. and russia are not at their best at the moment. the u.s. investigating whether russia was complicit in that attack. how easy do you think this could escalate? >> you know, what we need to them our viewers is that syria is one of the most complex war theaters in the world today. multiple conflicts in one. you have a civil war raging.

you have war by problemsies and now war by proxys 18 russia and it's allies and the united states with its allies. the celebration in the occupation about this president donald trump muscular approach in contrast to barack obama portrayed as a weak president. now donald trump has haen taken on a tough position. hezbollah. if there is no strategy on the part of donald trump, if there is no road map, no political engagement to resolve the blood shed that has been taking place in syria for the past six years, i expect more military escalation. i expect more proxy war in the next six or seven months. so this particular attack justify as it is, assad used chemical weapons more than once. it will not change the complex dynamics on the ground inside syria. >> i guess it also depends on what happens with trump u president trump. it's one move against obviously chemical weapons.

do you think he is prepared to move further? do you think this move is enough to stop bashar al-assad? >> my take on it, my reading is assad now will think twice before using -- >> so it has some sort of effect. >> for your viewers, absolutely. there is good. chemical weapons, .ston grass evil. for all viewers in the past six years, we estimate between 45u6789 and 400,000 syrians have been killed. 500,000. all chemical weapons the four or five weapons have contributed to only 1,000 killed. 1,000 killed out of 500 thousand so the we on the stable not just to prevent the use of chemical weapons, they are evil weapons. you have to end the bloodshed the blood bath that basically has destroyed syria. without a political strategy for the morning after, without a road map the killing continues. assad has a massive arsenal and

he has reiterated the sense that he's going to continues until he wins this war. so what is the political strategy of donald trump to help resolve the political crisis inside syria? >> that's what we want to hear, we want to see if there is indeed a sort of policy, a strategy, a vision in the crisis in syria? many, of course, as you know argues he played a short game with russia who is playing a very long game. thank you very much as always glad to have you on the show. you are watching a special edition of cnn "newsroom" we will have the deadly attack in stockholm, what terror looks like now in europe. we'll have that for you after brake.

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terrorist attack. cnn max foster joins us from stockholm with the latest. max, what more do we know at this stage about the man that happen arrested? >> reporter: two new pieces of information, they believe the man they arrested was the driver of the stolen truck. it does look as though that sort of story is coming together. we also understand from the national broadcast at sbt, explosives were found in the truck as well. if you look behind me, you can see how extraordinary it was, isa, there were so few casualties and deaths because that's the main street t. truck came thundering towards us. it's very narrow. it would have been full of people. it ran into that shop, the department store on the left, you can see the damage on the ground there. that's where the vehicle eventually came to a halt.

today it is an ongoing investigation, really, the country tried to make sense of what happened, what it means to the open and liberal society, do they need to increase security here? there was an accident in 2010 where there was a failed bomb attack and a lot of questions were asked after that, was enough done then? and now you can see this make-shift memorial gradually taking shape, people coming down, officials, the public, laying flowers. there was a lady as well who was caught in the knockdown just now, also the swedish deputy prime minister was here in the last hour, i grabbed a quick word with her. >> of course, this is the heart of the capital sweden and this is our hometown and lots of people from stockholm yesterday reacted very openly with their

arms opened to welcome strangers and those that had problems in getting home last night because of the subways and the public transportation was closed off. so lots of people had problems and i think we can never protect ourselves from this type of violence with no, let's say no limits to practice the we were traitor is limited to do with no human or normal let's say calculation, but if you are willing to sacrifice your own life and you are willing to sacrifice others, completely innocent people's lives, that's very difficult to protect yourself from. >> reporter: it does, of course, the reporting on over the months and years, nice, berlin, london, vehicles used as weapons. low tech they call it, but it's just so easy to do. so difficult to prevent.

>> absolutely, max foster there for us at the scene in stockholm. thanks very much, max, for checking in with you the next hour. max mentioned they are becoming the norm in europe, nic robertson looks at the weapon now of terror. >> reporter: eyewitnesses say the attacker put his foot on the gas and rammed through the crowd, his killing spree began mid-afternoon in one of stoke home's busiest shopping streets. the murder weapon a truck. he had stolen in the hours before the attack. terror has a new face now. in the past year, nice, berlin, london, jerusalem and now stockholm have all fallen victim to this new virulent sometime of attack and each city without warning, attackers using stolen or rented vehicles set out to cause as much carnage as they can. nice the first of these tapped worst, bastille day last year,

people celebrating on the sea front when a tunisian living in france stole a 19-ton truck driving at speed into the pedestrians crowding the promenade. by the time police shot him dead, 86 people slaughtered, more than 300 injured. five months later at berlin's fabled winter market a failed tunisian asylum seeker with ties to isis stole a huge truck killing its driver then plowing into holiday shoppers, killing 12 people, injuring more than 40 others. he went on the run, was shot and killed in italy a few days later. early january this year, in jerusalem, a palestinian man drove a flatbed truck into israeli troops, killing four, injuring at least ten. the attacker shot and killed, ending his murderous rampage.

in the heart of london two weeks ago, an older man with ties to extremists drove his rented offroad vehicle at over 70 miles per hour into tourists and residents, strolling over westminster bridge, killing four. then jumped out and killed a policeman before being shot to death by diplomatic protection officers. isis tries to claim connection to all, whether true or not, their slick pr machine ground out their killing narrative. don't come to syria and iraq. stay at home and killed. use a vehicle and now sweden thrust in the path of isis' prop dan da killing drive -- propaganda killing drive. cnn, london. >> all right. we'll be back in beirut after a quick break and we will try to explain why president trump

abruptly changed his cruise missile strike in an airbase in the central part of the country. we'll be right back, stay with us. so you're having a party?

i'm happy for the distraction. i'll be right there. and the butchery begins. what am i gonna wear? this party is super fancy. are you my uber? [ horn honks ] hold on. [ upbeat music playing ]

the biggest week in tv is back. [ doorbell rings ] who's that? show me watchathon. xfinity watchathon week now until april 9. get unlimited access to all of netflix and more, free with xfinity on demand. . this is cnn breaking news. welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and right around the world. are you watching cnn "newsroom." i'm isa soares. >> reporter: i'm hala gorani, we are live in beirut at an airbase in the central part of the country. now there has been a very heated war of words following this military intervention by the trump administration and the kremlin is denying allegations that it had anything to do with

the chemical weapons attack that happened a few days ago, but the u.s. says it's not convinced. it is questioning if russia helped syria carry out this chemical attack from the air field or knew about it and did nothing to stop it. early friday, the u.s. bombed the airfield in retaliation as we have been covering. for years donald trump before he was even president opposed u.s. intervention in syria against the regime and president trump's decision to authorize a cruise missile attack against the airbase marked an abrupt about face. so what was behind it? here is breana keeler. >> reporter: president trump has long said the u.s. should keep to itself. >> i'm not and i don't want to be the president of the world, i'm the president of the united states. >> reporter: that was before his decision to attack syria in response to horrific pictures of a chemical weapons attack on

civilians there. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the air field in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. these heinous actions be i the assad regime cannot be tolerated. my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. >> reporter: in fact, it has completely reversed. in 2013, when it was first confirmed the syrian government was using chemical weapons on its own people, pictures came to light of the attack much like the ones we seen this week, president obama weighed whether to make good on the threat. >> a red line for us is we start saying a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around. >> reporter: at the time, trump tweeted repeatedly, opposing action, to our very foolish leader, he said, do not attack syria. if you do, many bad things will happen and from that fight the

u.s. gets nothing. there is no upside and tremendous downside. and he told cnn. >> we can't let isis and syria fight and let russia, they're in syria already, let them fight isis? >> reporter: then thursday and about face. >> it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the threat and use of deadly chemical weapons. >> reporter: and trump's decision to strike syrias a a unilateral one after chasing obama for a go it alone approach. the president must get congressional approval before attacking syria. a big mistake if he does not, trump tweeted in 2013, president obama was ultimately unable to and scrapped plans to strike until 2014 when arab countries also participated in military action. well perhaps this is also

classic trump, championing the element of surprise in foreign policy? >> i'm not saying i'm doing anything one way or another. >> reporter: and obsessed with appearing strong. >> if president obama's goal had been to weaken america, he could not have done a better job. >> reporter: it also changed the narrative long plaguing the trump administration the drip, trip, drip, of the stories about his campaign officials ties to russia and their meetings oftentimes undisclosed with russian officials during and after when russia attempted to interfere in the 201616 election. >> well, there was a heated exchange at the u.eu u.n. secur council. as far as the russian representative, he was essentially conveying the position of the russian government that striking a syrian air field will only

embolden the terrorists. this is what he said. >> it's not difficult to imagine how much the spirits of these terrorists have been raised after the support from washington. immediately after the attack, there were massive attacks by isil and al nuzra against syrian military sites. you have destroyed iraqi military, libyan military bases and see what's happened. of course, these actions contradict international decisions, including the geneva commu communique which we designed together with you. >> well, joining me now is a professor of international politics at city university in london. all right. so we're hearing from russia. they're obviously unhappy about

this strike hitting the airbase if central syria. they're saying this is only going to help isis and other extremist groups. but let's talk a little about the central impact on the syrian regime, it was a pin prick strike but it was a message. do you think it will act as a derer ent? >> -- deterrent? >> as you said in your report by the trump administration, i think this suggestion that president trump is now if you like a normal american policy establishment president in foreign policy terms. and i think it does suggest that there is an escalation on america's military role in that country and it could well be that it's going to change the situation quite seriously. >> even coming from really the most passionate opponents of the syrian regime, the political opposition outside the country. even though they expressed some

satisfaction that a military installation was targeted, nearly all say that there needs to be a parallel political and diplomatic trek. is this something that i mean have we matured to the point where russia and the united states can get on that same page, do you think? >> that's a very difficult question, because as you said in your report, that president trump's policies, hess attitudes can be changeable. but one hopes that in the end we look at history, as we look at the solution to conflicts, which have been long-standing ones, the only solution in the end is diplomatic and political is to recognize the forces that are at work and for the powers which are involved to be sincere in their efforts to try to bring peace. unfortunately the united states role overall in that region and in that particular conflict does not necessarily give us full confidence, because they have known for quite some time that

isis, for example, has been supported by some of their key gulf allies, and after the libyan conflict, quite a lot of arms went into that country to oppose the assad regime. >> what about the roam of regional powers? you mentioned regional powers. obviously the important ones are turkey, iran and saudi arabia. so you have those three, they have been essentially fighting a proxy war pretty much on syrian territory at the expense of syrian civilians. there too needs to be a change? >> absolutely. i think in the end, the only way this is going to get resolved is in one key target is kept in mind and that is that isis is the biggest destabilizer in the region. there are crimes being committed by many, many different powers inside syria. the syrian go. but in the end, the defeat of isis is fundamental am f. they can agree on that, then i think

there is a possibly way forward. unfortunately, isis and other powers, other forces which are involved in syria are, if you like proxys for many other powers the meddling from outside, is making it far more dangerous and far less likely that there is going to be a diplomatic solution very soon. >> but how do you solve the isis issue which is a pressing one, obviously, without solving the political issue in damascus, those two things go hand-in-hand, don't they? you have to do both at the same time or neither will work? >> well, regardless of what we believe to be the character of the assad regime, the assad regime is still a secular one, it is one with the largest staix stake in the fight against isis. it has also obviously suffered the greatest number of casualties. i think we have to take that into account in the short and medium term.

we have to decide, what is the issue hearn, i think for many people it is isis, which remains the biggest problem. therefore, supporting the forces which are opposed to isis, if an allie allows that question, i think that is probably the greatest way forward which is likely to end in some kind of resolution here. >> all right. well, we'll see what happens, especially when the secretary of state rex tillerson visits moscow next week. i'm sure we will hear from representatives at that time as well t. professor of politics at city university. a lot more ahead. thank you very much for your time. a lot more ahead on this special edition of cnn "newsroom." the latest on that deadly attack in stockholm. we will talk to one of the newspaper editors the day after. how is the country reacting coming up? if you have medicare

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. welcome back. we return now to the investigation into the stockholm attack on this special edivision

of cnn newsroom. swedish officials say a back of explosives was found in the truck used in friday's attack. a suspect is likely the driver of the vehicle. he is being held on suspicion of terrorist crimes. at least four people were killed and 12 wounded after a stolen truck plowed into pedestrians on the busy street in the swedish capital. i want to go to the editor if chief of one of the biggest newspapers in sweden. he joins me now from stockholm. thank you very much for trying to speak to us on the show. what more are you learning about this man that was arrested as well as we know his motive at this point? >> we don't know his motive at this point. but there are several media reports that the man is from use beck stan, thuzbekistan. they say he is the man that actually drove the lorry, so

this is what has been confirmed from the police side up until now. >> do we know whether this was just a lone wolf attack, was he acting alone? what are you hearing? >> reporter: well the police was working throughout the night in several different areas in stockholm. they haven't confirmed they made more arrests, but there are reports about that as well. so it's difficult to tell at this point if he was a lone loneer or there was more involved in this attack. >> how much is the rocking the people of swede then morning? give us a sense of the mood there? >>. >> reporter: well the crown princess victoria was at the scene minutes ago, she was dressed in black. she talked about her sorrow and she showed respect to the victims. she came with flowers. she left there red roses.

she was visibly shaken. she said when one reporter asked, how long will you move on from now? she said, "together." that's what she said. i think that captures the mood at this moment. >> how much has this rattled people? i believe this was the first attack in sweden? >> when we actually had a terrorist attack in the same area in central stockholm in 2010, when suicide bomber made the same attempt to kill other people. he just killed himself, it is actually in the area not far away from where our prime minister was killed in 1986, a foreign minister was killed in the same area and we had a terrorist attack not far away in the place. it's a place connected with incidents in modern swedish history. >> and tell me, i'm not sure

whether the newspaper today would have tackled this. because like belgium, sweden has had several hundred travel to join terrorist groups. what is being done in sweden to contain this? is this something that worries the people there? >> it is definitely an important political issue. a lot worry about it. but the problem is tstill there. and there is no clear solution to the program because we have had people going to syria, coming back, there are in some incidents very dangerous people. but we don't know at this stage if anyone of them are enroldz in this attack. >> peter can i ask you briefly what the front page of your newspaper says this morning? >> terrorist strikes in the middle of stockholm and our leadish of the world says we will not give into this as stockholmers. >> thank you very much nor joining us there from stockholm

in sweden. coming up, a strike by the u.s., nothing new. we will take a look at retaliations launched by the united states. do stay right here with cnn. we are, of course the world's news leader. pain used to shut me down during pick-up games. but with odor free blue-emu continuous pain relief spray, i can box out any muscle or joint pain immediately. blue-emu continuous pain relief spray, it works fast and you won't stink.

welcome back, everybody, i'm hala gorani, we are live in beirut covering that u.s. strike on a syrian airbase yesterday. now, there was a very intense war of words between the united states and russia. the security council, there have been accusations flying back and forth. russia is denying it had any role in that chemical attack that killed so many civilians two days ago, a massacre we all know prompted president trump to launch strikes. the pentagon is now looking for the evidence that the kremlin asked no see that it few about or was complicit in the chemical assault. early friday, local time, u.s. warships launched missiles at that syrian air field, believed to be the base for warplanes that carried out the gas attack. this is, of course, the after math of that significant event t. u.s. as we mentioned there,

launchching those strikes, they are meant to be punitive and a deterrent as well, of course, it's not the first time the united states intervened militarily in this way. gary tuckman looks back at some of those attacks. report. light years ago before the 2003 war against a u.s.-led coalition, saddam hussein's airaq was punished laying tomahawk missile strikes. a punitive four-day campaign, ordered by president bill clinton, following iraq's refusal to comply with u.n. security council resolutions, much of iraq's military infrastructure destroyed. iraq sent hundreds of troops and civilians were killed. it wasn't the first strike ziepd to punish the iraqi -- designed to punish the iraqi regime. 23 cruise missiles were launched into downtown baghdad, a warning after an assassination plot was

uncovered if kuwait of former president h.w. bush who was visiting the country he helped liberate during the 1991 gulf wore. collin powell was the joint chiefs of staff at the time. >> should mr. hussein dream of retaliating we have more than enough force to deal with it. >> reporter: punitive attacks have also been used to retaliation for murders or americans. in 1986, libyan strongman moma gadhafi was said to be behind the bombing of a disco in west berlin. the u.s. military replied, 60 tons of munitions reigning down. >> my fellow americans, at 7:00 eastern time, naval forces of the united states launched a series of strikes against the headquarters, terrorist facilities and military assets that support moammar gadhafi's subversive activities. >> and the result, back there is

the building where his wife and children were staying when the bombing came monday night. two were injured the smallest and an adoptive daughter was killed. >> today we have done what we had to do. if necessary, we sham do it again. >> rovmt georgia davie survived. he wasn't at the site. dozens of libyans died as did two u.s. air force pilots. another punishment for the murder of civilians came in 1998. operation infinite reach led against al qaeda targets in sudan and afghanistan, after u.s. embassies were bombed. more than 200 were killed. up to 4,000 wounded. these punitive strikes have been used by a long line of u.s. presidents to punish or warn others when their actions are deemed a threat to american interests. >> i said that we would act with others, if possible. and alone, if necessary, to ensure that terrorists have no sanctuary anywhere. tonight, we have.

>> reporter: gary tubman, cnn, atlanta. >> we're going to have a lot more coming up in the next hour on the u.s. airstrike against that syrian airbase in central syria. the united states says that syrian government warplanes took off from that air ba is to conduct a chemical attack. this has led to tension between the united states and russia. we have our team of reporters fanned out across the region and in walk as well covering this important story. i'll be back in a few minutes, for now, isa, back to you in london. >> of course, we will be back as well from stockholm after that attack yesterday would be like in stockholm. our special coverage continues after a very short break. do stay right here on cnn.

welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm isa soares in london where it's now 10:00. >> hello everyone i'm hal hala gorani. the syrian regime flew planes from a base and conducted a chemical attack a few days ago. there was a suggestion from the united states that russia might have been aware or even complicit in this attack. the kremlin