♪ going down going down going down ♪ hey but if i were a different girl -- . forces launching a combined air strike. in retaliation for the alleged chemical weapons attack that left children wrooising in pain, gasping to breathe. >> these ro not actions of a man. they are crimes of a monster, instead. >> so many rule powers involved. could this strike escalate into a larger conflict? the president's words to the supporters of the assad regime.

>> i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children. >> and why this military operation might not be over yet. this special edition of "nightline: strike on syria "will be right back

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. this is a special edition of "nightline". strike on syria. >> good evening. tonight the u.s. launched and attack on syria in a joint operation with british and french forces. abc world news tonight david mu certificate in beirut with the latest. >> as you can see, it is early morning in the mooeft in beirut. the sun has coming up, as it has over syria where they have realized that there have been u.s.-led air strikes. it's something they were expecting somewhat, since earlier in the week president trump in his tweets signalling to the world that the missiles were coming. shortly after 9:00 p.m. eastern president trump addressing the american people telling them the precision air strikes had come. they were aimed as chemical weapons weapons capabilities facilities across syria and that the air strikes were being accomplished with the help of uk and france. in fact, it was french president

emanuel macron said earlier that there was no doubt that chemical weapons had been used. the images seen were talked about not only back in the u.s. but around the world. the women and children in agony. we know more than 40 were kill in the suspected chemical attack. he talked about mothers and children gasping for air and these people were a monster, speaking of assad. assad tonight has issued a saying saying good people, good souls will not be humiliated. obviously, he's waking up to see capabilities of clechs facilities. as we know, there are 2,000 u.s. troopsworking and operating inside syria right now. it is believed they are completely save. one thing the defense department, james mad is said repeatedly that they tried to

minimize any risk of casualties on the ground. no word on whether or not anyone was hurt in any of these air strikes. back to you. >> thank you, david. it was a short while ago that president trump addressed the nation, outlining the reasons for tonight's air strikes. in casting blame on russia and iran. >> my fellow americans, a short time ago i ordered the u.s. military forces to launch targets on locations associated with chemical weapons capabilities of bashar al assad. >> the u.s. along with france and the united kingdom have launched a strike against syria. >> the pump of our attack is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. >> james mad is described the action as limited for now.

>> this is a one-time shot and i believe it has send a strong message to deter him from doing this again. >> reporter: the strike comes a week after a reported chemical attack outdouma. >> the evil and despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air. >> the president condemning not only the dictator, but the two countries who primary support his regime. >> to iran and to russia i ask, what kind of nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children? >> reporter: pressing russia to give up its support of assad. >> russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path or if it will join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace.

hopefully some day we'll get along with russia and maybe even iran, but maybe not. >> reporter: late tonight the russian baes in the u.s. issued a statement saying our warnings have been left unheard. a predesigned scenario has been implemented. we worry that such actions will not be left without consequences. martha raddatz is in washington tonight with more. martha? >> buy ron, the missile strikes struck only three targets, chemical weapons infrastructure. the first target a scientific research center, a center for research development production and testing of biological chemical warfare technology. a storage facility west of holmes, the primary location of syrian and the third contains storage facilities, an important, they say, command post. the pentagon said the strikes

would be sustained but by that, they do not mean continuous. they mean if assad uses chemical weapons again, they will hit him again. secretary mad is says this is a one-time shot. this is over. we do not expect anymore strikes again unless assad uses chemical weapons again. they only used about 120 cruise missiles in this attack. the 59 tomahawk missiles last year hit the airfield and the airfield was up and running in days. this was a quick coordinated strike with the french and british and u.s. the russians were not given a target list. they were last year. they were warned what would be hit, but there was some deconfliction going on. the u.s. did communicate with the russians what airspace they would be using, so they did have a hint.

byron? >> i want to bring in retired marine colonel steve ganniert. this time we're learning there were multiple targets. can you tell us specifically what was said and what was the scope of the attack? >> the tarlgts were similar. they were all chemical weapons, either production facilities, places where they stored chemical weapons. although the target set was very much like last year in hitting these facilities there were a greater number of facilities hit this time across all of syria. >> and what can you tell us about the coalition forces in the region? >> well, this was a true combined operation. we had u.s., french, and british aircraft and perhaps u.s. and french ships at sea, all launching these cruise missiles to hit the various targets around syria that all three countries had agreed on. >> reporter: now, will this attack, you think, deter chemical weapon attacks on the syrian people again by assad?

>> this was more of a pumplg in the arm than a punch in the nose. i think another way to look at this is maybe this is the same message president trump said last year, just shout it louder. it's not a new message. it didn't hurt assad himself. it's just a stronger warning not to use chemical weapons. whether that's effective, we can only wait and see. >> steve, thank you so much. >> thanks. >> let's bring in abc news white house correspondent cecilia vega. throughout the week the president said he was weighing his options before his decision tonight, criticized by some for telegraphing his plan. how did he come to tonight's decision? >> reporter: he started the week with the top generals in the white house behind closed doors. this is not an easy decision for this president. the white house aides have told us he was moved on a deeply personal level by seeing the images of those children in

syria. you know, he's a grandfather. remember that, and he had said the first time around when he authorized these attacks a year ago that that is what moved them. the there are reports, though, that he didn't necessarily get all the plans laid out the way he wanted. he wanted a tough hard punishment for syria and that wasn't in the initial round punishments of the attacks he received from his generals, so he pushed him harder, not just to punish syria, but to punish russia. it looks like the plan he got is one he is happy with. >> let's talk about the politics, the optics of this evening with all that's going on with at this white house? >> this day started hours ago with the president tweeting at his former fbi director james comey launching the attack calling him a leaker and a liar saying he should be prosecuted. aside from that his own attorney's office, his private

attorney's home and office has been raided in recent days. he's got a lot going on that led up to decision in syria and i think a lot of people are wondering on whether he was able to fully concentrate with everything going on around him. >> a full day at the white house, for sure. thank you so much. next -- the origins of the gas on syria. syria. it's a long-distance run and you have the determination to keep going. humira has a proven track record of being prescribed for over ten years. it's the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists. more than 250,000 patients have chosen humira to fight their psoriasis. and they're not backing down. for most patients clearer skin is the proof. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems.

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three targets were destroyed, including a scientific research center, a chemical weapons storage facility, and a military command post. tonight's attack was in response to the assad regime's alleged chemical weapons attacks on innocent civilians, but the math to tonight traces back years. abc's ian panel is in lund with more. ian. >> thank you. we've had reaction in london, also from paris. messages of support for the president and the military has also been involved. the attack was not as extensive as they feared. amidst all the talk, let's not forget that this began with the death of dozens of men, women, and children. the u.s. strike on syria comes less than a week after a suspected chemical attack on dumais, a rebel district near the capital. for some, it crossed a new red line. the attack triggered in part by

these images, so graphic we can't even show you the worst of it. this was the apparent aftermath. children pouring into a makeshift clinic, eyes burning, some foaming at the mouth. many struggling just to stay alive and some failing to. >> today is the worst day i watched here. >> he tended the situation. >> it's too because because of the high anybody of injury and the few enough medical team. >> reporter: rebel activists and rescuers say perhaps 40 or more dieds, suffocating from an unknown substance. syrian president bashar al assad has denied responsibility for the attack but he denies its. the crisis was rapidly

escalatesed tensions in the international community. >> we are beyond showing pictures of dead babies. we are beyond appeals to conscious. >> reporter: at the u.n., divisions were drawn with the u.s. and allies like france and the united kingdom on one side. >> the mon store responsible for the these attacks >> reporter: nice and new and smart missiles would be come. for its part, the kremlin refused to engage. donald trump earlier tweeted blaming russian president putin for backing if syrian president. >> he may. if he does it's going to be very tough. >> he'll pay a price? >> everybody's going to pay a price. he will, everybody will. >> the syrian government is paying that price tonight. after a seven-year civil war that's killed 400,000 people and

decimated entire cities with an exodus of over five and a half million. >> he's killing his own people and he continues to kill hundreds of thousands of the syrian people. >> reporter: in 2012 president obama said they'd cross a red line and bring enormous consequences for syria's president. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving armed or being utilized. that would change my callus -- calculus. >> until just over a year ago when reports emerged of attacks in a town, more than 80 people were killed. >> that crosses many, many lines, beyond the red line. >> within days prumpl ordered air strikes on the syrian airfield used to launch the chemical attack.

>> when he dropped those missiles last year, it was -- seemed so big and so alarming and 59 tomahawk missiles. the truth is it was a pretty small strike. >> and the airfield back in service within 24 hours ago. president trump two weeks ago expressed a desire to get troops out of syria. >> in terms of the mission of that is getting rid of isis. we've almost completed that task. >> reporter: it's the seernl sen stream -- syrian regime that's launched attacks over the last year according to the u.n. >> obviously what we did last year has deterred him as he has continued to kill his people. >> reporter: it's the almost daily barrage of bombs from

conventional warfare that's taken the biggest toll since fighting broke out since the president and rebel groups years ago. i saw the horrors of the civil war early on reporting for the bbc. this hospital was overwhelmed every day by casualties. the situation is one of unbelievable chaos. we've been here just a few minutes, and patients are being brought in as patients work under fire trying to keep them alive. part of a regime campaign of killing on an industrial scale. tonight, it's american bombs, not syrian or russian ones that are exploding across they. as tensions in the region rise further. but for the children and families of syria, this is unlikely to bring any relief. as the world waits to see what happens next.

>> you've spent considerable time on the ground in syria. bottom line, will teept's attack affect the future? >> it's all a discussion about everything that's happened. i think the sad reality is that the chances are that those men, women, and children may well be protected from chemical weapons. they will not be protected from conventional weapons. as many as four to 500,000 people are estimated to have died in the syrian civil war. this is not over. assad and russia and iran will continue to bomb, maybe not using clemson but certainly traditional ones. >> stark reality. thank you so much. we'll be right back. >> this special edition of "night lion" is sponsored by the lynn kahn motor company. ♪

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tune in to "g.m.a. "tomorrow for full coverage of the strike on syria. sunday, interview with former fbi director james comey. sunday night at 10:00, 9:00 central. thank you for watching.

as always we're on line, our nightline facebook page. thanks for the company, america. good night.