lights flare over the syrian capital damascus as western missiles fall. in a wave of strikes launched from naval vessels and the year the u.s. banks my french and british forces bomb syria. they were aiming to knock out three targets related to syria's chemical weapons program. two facilities in the capital damascus and one in the western city of homs . syria state t.v. broadcast footage of the building it said was a research center hit by a mistrial the joint military action came a week after a gas attack on civilians which was thought to have been carried out by the forces of syrian president bashar assad. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops or choose of prohibited chemical agents i also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting equipping and financing the criminal assad regime to iran and to russia i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men women and children. this is the largest display of joint force by western nations against the assa

has targeted damascus or around damascus since the beginning of the syria crisis. you've got over half a million people who have been killed in this crisis. and for the u.s. to take some action after seven years has really gotten to people in damascus that the situation is very tense. now, the presidency page in syria uploaded a video of the president going into work as usual this morning. that's probably another ploy just to show the world that things are continuing as normal. i can definitely tell you that in the hours between 4:30 and 5:30 this morning, things were not normal. this was not -- this was not initially a symbolic strike in an airfield in the middle of nowhere. this was a strike within and around damascus for the first time since the start of the syria crisis. now, we've also heard intense reports of strikes around homs. the homs strike has been confirmed. so we're getting reports now of more strikes around syria which have happened but have taken longer to confirm due to the fact they're quite far away from damascus. there are russian jets in the sk

very different sound here in damascus. are hearing here is the sound ofair what we are hearing here is the sound of air strikes, almost rumbling sort of sounds which sound like thunder in the distance. we we re like thunder in the distance. we were here on this balcony which faces south—east over damascus. we we re faces south—east over damascus. we were listening to president trump speak about four o'clock local time early this morning, and while the president was speaking we were hearing those are strikes. we were also starting to see behind us, over the balcony here, we saw streaking through the skies flares lighting up the night sky. we were also seeing and hearing some anti—aircraft fire, and hearing some anti—aircraft fire, and syrian state tv was reporting that 13, according to them, 13 missiles had been shot out of the sky, it indeed that proves to be true that would certainly be a badge of honourfor true that would certainly be a badge of honour for the syrians, who said that there anti—aircraft defences we re tha

and it is further away than damascus. it will take time to understand exactly how things are planned out. but what i can tell you is that this, these attacks have definitely, and conspicuously taken damascus by surprise. we were expecting being here. been here three months. we were expecting, de-escalation. over three days. weren't expecting an attack to happen today. especially after the different messages being center out by, by russia, by the french, by trump. and the fact that, that trump stated that, that there would be an attack. but he hasn't specified when. we thought the russians were taking diplomacy on board. this would be sold differently. but to our amazement, the attack happened today. and, for duration of 50 minutes. different sites within damascus. possibly syria were targeted by planes and missiles. i could confirm that i heard war planes in the sky as, well as the missles fired. soap that ultimately adds to the fact it was a two prong add take using war plaepz and missiles. while we take stock, it will b

see how things are right now in damascus to enlist . the twelve hours or more from these attacks how are people in damascus reacting and what's life like there right now. what initially it around four thirty in the morning the reaction was very it was very surprising you know it was one of one of surprise that the u.s. had actually what struck damascus for the first time in seven years and after the initial one hour long bombardment of different sites within damascus and in hama and in homs the reaction that kind of go back to normal if you like it's one of defiance one of showing the united states france and britain that life will continue as normal in damascus we've seen numerous pro. syrian military protests pro-government protests today and in damascus in the end in other areas we've seen rallies denouncing the decision of donald trump and enco to strike syria in the early hours of yesterday evening and we've seen this syrian president upload a video this morning of the president assad going into work at nine o'clock as i asked the

the latest we have heard, we arejust damascus?e are just getting social media and state tv in syria is now showing that civilians have gathered near a square close to a military airport on the outskirts of damascus which was apparently attacked by american cruise missiles. i think this gives you some illustration, people are just waking up this morning in the middle east, the syrian government will be assessing the damage, but after the fire and furious at we have seen over the past few days, this does appear from their point of view, although they have not stated publicly, they will see this as a limited strike. they will have two make their assessments, but for now it does appear that the americans have targeted chemical weapons facilities, we know in damascus, we know near homs. but after all those tweets and all the buildup, perhaps there may be a feeling of relief in damascus, that this was not more serious. and you say that is because of the nature of the western strikes, that they are targeted and looking at specific sites,

but all the attacks not exactly in damascus center but around damascus. also reports of explosions in eastern syria. two different locations in eastern syria. but what struck me in listening to president trump is that this isn't designed or wasn't explained to be a one-off operation. he said this is an open-ended commitment that the u.s. is prepared to continue these operations until bashar al assad stops using chemical weapons. that is if not a new war in the middle east, it is certainly a new open-ended mission, and it is one that carries significant risk. already syrian air defense as cording to syrian state tv, according to some video posted on social immediamedia i was ju looking at, syrian air defenses are in action. syrian state tv broke into its coverage, and it is now about 4:30 in the morning in damascus, to tell whoever was watching that syrian air defenses are in action launching counterstrikes against what it described as the u.s., french, and british aggression. i've been told by u.s. officials that there were great efforts made to try and c

the syrian capital of damascus now it's important to note that damascus is a part of syria that is under the control of the syrian government and there are syrians from all across the country who have had to flee their homes during the course of this war as extremists and terrorists that want to topple the syrian government have been gaining ground and seizing area people have fled their homes and taken refuge in damascus receiving protection from bombs from the syrian government the syrian government has been offering protection to its citizens in damascus a lot of the military operations in recent months have been the syrian government protecting damascus because it's so densely populated there have been shelling of damascus by terrorists terrorist forces there have been efforts efforts to make sure that damascus because it is so densely populated with syrian civilians who have fled from all over the country there been efforts to make sure it is secure well now we have confirmation that it was in damascus that the airstrikes from the united states with the support of the u.k. and franc

two hours seven pm damascus time with. damascus. and my government will of course provide every support to this delegation first to carry out its of the mission successfully about the facilities of the research facility which was targeted by this tripartite aggression. the building actually. that building up a list that was visited. twice last year by experts from the o.p.c. w. welcomed them willing was inspected just me. and you had the inspection was authorized if you had an official document you moved. that stipulated one of them and of that you have. well stated that syria had no i don't that is obligations he says. there were no cable no activities in this building us media phenomenon now if the experts the. americans but as it handed to us in official document which confirms that this center. was not used any type of chemical activity that is in contravention to. the o.p.c. doubly how do you reconcile that with what we've heard this morning and. how do you reconcile that with all these accusations and then the claims that this

it's afternoon there in damascus. what else are you seeing as far as sieve -- civilians or residences in syria? >> there has been a number of rallies taking place across syria. that's strange considering the events that happened yesterday morning. at the center of damascus you have tens of thousands of civilians and protesters gathering and stating their defiance in the face of these u.s.-led attacks participated as well by britain and france. it's essentially a message of strength. these attacks won't break us. in addition to that, you have the syrian president filmed for the first time throughout the war going into work in a video this morning, which was released by the presidency page on twitter. going into work as if nothing happened. as if things continued as normal. i can definitely tell that sometimes in the late hours of yesterday evening things were not normal. there was a big state of panic within syria over the attacks. not a lot was clear about what was happening. and definitely in terms of the civilian pe

for of us now there's some pictures on our screen all of those protesters gathering in damascus. a year ago the u.k. parliament rejected joining the u.s. so this year to reason may didn't even all scams and pays for approval what you think back to his own what kind of backlash to think she's going to get about. look honestly there's a lot of interest behind this is we know there's the oils that we'll discover in the pipeline that they're negotiating it's unfortunate to see how people instead of really for example with us what happens make america great again why don't we focus on our own nation we have homelessness we have issues that we need to resolve britain has their own issues why don't we let the syrian people continue doing what they're doing solving their own issues i mean ninety percent of the country over the seven years that they've been able to quite out of terrorism why didn't we help them from the beginning it would have been done within two weeks rather than take this long they just keep on rearming they just we are in saudi arabia again they are the terrorists the

has targeted damascus or around damascus since the beginning of the syrian crisis.ve been killed in this crisis and for the u.s. to take some action after seven years has really gone to people in damascus that the situation is very tense. now the presidency page in syria uploaded a video of the president going into work as usual this morning. and that's probably another ploy to show the world that things are continuing as normal. but i can definitely tell you in the hours between 4:30 and 5:30 this morning, things were not normal at all. this was not -- this was not initially a symbolic strike in an air field in the middle of nowhere. this was a strike within and around damascus for the first time since the start of the syrian crisis. >> that from syrian journalist danny makki describing what it was like in damascus when those air strikes were happening. >> thank you for being along with us. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. our breaking news continues. more reaction to the united states, the uk and france conducting military strikes in syria. "new day" is ne

on the street damascus, there was defiance this morning.said the enemy missiles we re this man said the enemy missiles were destroyed in the syrian skies and his country had not been affected in any way. just reiterate what was being said at the end of that report, donald trump said after the strikes took place that it was the us‘s intention to make sure that the production and use of chemical weapons was degraded in syria. he said that was in the interests of the united states. like to washington now and chris butler whojoins us from to washington now and chris butler who joins us from there. on the comments pages and in newspaper coverage of this, all around the world, there is some confusion. president trump said to the effect of this was action that would continue, and under defence secretary, james mattis, said this was one might strikes. what is going on? is it just was one might strikes. what is going on? is itjust one night of strikes? i will give you exactly the quote from james matters, in which he said very clearly that this was

cbs news for bbc news, damascus.ration camp at bergen belsen in germany 73 years ago this week, saving the lives of thousands. one of them was hetty verolme. in 1945 she was interviewed by the bbc, just days after the liberation. she returned recently to belsen and spoke again to the bbc. our correspondent jeremy cooke reports. for hetty verolme, this is a walk back in time. back to a place of darkness and the place of death. we were jews, that's why we were brought here. hetty, has come back to belsen. archive: beyond the barrier, the smell of death and decay, of corruption and filth. hetty was here when british troops marched through the gates exactly 73 years ago. 52,000 people died here. if you gave up hope that you wouldn't live, that the future was gone, you would be dead in two days. hetty was 13 years old when she and her two brothers were deported from holland to belsen, along with their parents. as the camp was finally liberated, she found the strength to tell her story to the bbc. hetty, this is extraordin

down several missiles in it damascus now as i said both the u.k. and france have also confirmed they joined the military operation with the americans a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom. is now underway we thank them both. ok let's go straight to a solid binge of it he joins us from near the syria turkey border so we can see the sun rising that these strikes occurred in the very early hours of the morning just about two hours ago now are we getting a clear idea of what exactly has been hit. laura as the sun comes up in syria people are now going to try and find out what exactly was hit what we know so far is that three targets were. hit by this coalition of the united states french and british air forces as well as missiles strikes these targets were one of them was close to the capital of damascus where we've seen a number of pi

in damascus today there were scenes of celebration. to hail the defiance of the syrian people and president assad. so what is the mood like in the syrian capital today? 0r collea g u es like in the syrian capital today? 0r colleagues at cbs sent this report from damascus. we were driving around but we were unable to get in because of checkpoints. we have seen images inside of the devastation. the building appears to be com pletely the building appears to be completely destroyed and pictures we re completely destroyed and pictures were released on syrian television earlier this morning. unbelievably neighbours relatively unfazed. people opening windows so they wouldn't burst, but watching this kind of display in the sky as we watched. it was interesting to me listening to president trump speak in one earand listening to president trump speak in one ear and looking out over this city watching anti—aircraft fire and also seeing and hearing those air strikes hit their targets. pictures that were released this morning that we re that were r

i have been talking to someone damascus.ident assad. a young man who does not want his name used. he is a syrian who left the country couple of years ago. he is planning to head back. he told me a little bit earlier that while he does not support the strikes, you're also does not want to see president assad stay in power for any longer. does not want to see president assad stay in powerfor any longer. there are two competing narratives here. multiple competing narratives. from damascus, one of the places where, from where this coalition air force launched, and our correspondent colleague for us in the, in cyprus and the british base there. jonathan, british warplanes are just a small number of launching relatively limited number of missiles. not targeted at damascus to whom we were just speaking, but targeted further north. yes, andrew member they have been flying operations, the eight were made of jazz, six typhoons, based here in cyprus for the last three years against islamic state targets in iraq and syria. —— yes, and r

the explosions reported on twitter and downtown damascus suggest that the u.s. and allies will be exacting a price from president bashar assad himself. and if you look at the strike a year ago when 59 tomahawk and air strikes, they targeted university one base where the chemical weapon's attack occurred a year ago. that only took out 20 percent of president bashar assad aircraft x. within 24 hours, his air force was flying again. and in order to provide a deterrent, this will be a stronger signal and we'll know more when the pentagon breves us on the targets. >> sean: the russia blocking u.n. condemnation and accusing the uk of using chemical weapons and russia pulled out all of their vessels from the area and we talked about and mentioned sabre was from moscow and not putin himself. >> reporter: we heard from senior russian officials whether it is labroov. he made the threat. and so very, very top officials that speak for putin were issuing those threats to at this time u.s., but again, the u.s. military has forced protection in place and so they did not take t

it is on the south side of damascus. key part of the chemical weapons and the weapons are stored at the messe air base and launched from the air base 20 miles north east of damascus also hit. so we are going after the part of the compel -- the chemical weapon program and we'll see how accurate the targeting has been. >> nic robertson is standing by in moscow. any statements by the regime in moscow? >> nothing by the regime, but the main opposition figure here denied the opportunity to run in recent elections but he said assad is no friend of the russians and president putin is using the money of russian pensioners to prop up assad and keep him in power. so certainly the opposition here using this as an opportunity to get their voice out, thinking about what president trump said military economic and diplomatic measures to be brought to bear here. it was president macron of france that called president trump by phone today and told him that he was disappointed and worried about the state of the -- the civil war in syria a

these are nearly four thousand people displaced from doumani of the syrian capital damascus where the latest suspected chemical attack happened. we lived in birthdays in history and bhutto especially in the last three days with the original creation in juba which used resulting in suffocation cases among the civilians i would force displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in chemical attacks were unthinkable for these protesters in two thousand and twelve in the beginning really mobile videos used to capture a peaceful syrian uprising against bashar al assad. in the syrian government began its brutal crackdown with the arrests torture and killings the opposition also picked up weapons. and radical groups such as ice and took advantage that was the first event for the assad government which insisted it was fighting what it called terrorists. a major syrian chemical attack in change things in two thousand and thirteen and the threat of u.s. action inside syria remains that a threat to the international community is credibility is on the line and america and congress' credibility

and france of course two sites in homes or near homes and one site in damascus was struck just a few hours ago targeting chemical weapons facilities owned by a sad when we heard president trump and defense actually masses speaking they were at great pains to insist that all measures have been taken to prevent civilian casualties. right and you know with daylight we find out whether or not those many refer to a surgical strikes were in fact as precise as they'd hoped i can tell you rarely are they one hundred percent clean in terms of civilian casualties or what the united states often will call collateral damage so certainly with daylight not surprised that we're getting those kinds of lines coming out of syria i think it's important to note that while the united states said that this time the strikes that occurred were different from what we saw one year ago in terms of these three target areas the three chemical weapon sites and well there was this sort of sense of relief that you were talking with rory about that this is finally occurred i think we have to look at the u.s. languag

i lived in damascus and not too far from that area. this is right in the middle of a heavily densely populated area. and for us to put cruise missiles in that area indicates a high confidence to put the missiles there and not hit those civilian populations. this is much different than what we did last year when we were striking those airfields. >> there was a bit of confusion, so to speak. maybe they weren't on the same message, who knows. the president saying it was a sustained attack. secretary mattis said earlier no additional attacks planned, this was going to be a single attack unless assad didn't get the message. a one time strike like this and saying it's a one time strike, why telegraph when there's been so much criticism especially from this particular president about telegraphing to the enemy what we're going to do. >> don, in this particular case is the divergence between what the president said in terms of a sustained effort and what secretary mattis said in terms of this being a strike, really allows the united states and

to damascus in a very strong show of support to the syrian government as the u.s.was debating on what action to take and in the syrian capital issuing two threats one threat to the israeli government saying that iran will retaliate for that attack on the t. for air base and at the same time a warning to the united states telling them that their troops in syria are considered occupying forces the americans have two thousand approximately two thousand troops in the north east of the country in the kurdish region and will lay it to saying that a military operation will be launched in that area to quote liberated and expel the u.s. forces so iran really raising the stakes because iran feels it is the target they were afraid that this will not be a limited action that just targeted the syrian government's chemical weapons infrastructure there were a lot of reports that the possibility of iranian troops and bases in syria will be targeted as well as hezbollah that clearly did not happen it's not clear whether behind the scenes negotiations it's because a behind the scene

will syrians gathered on the streets of damascus condemned the strikes. we did not sleep at night we went to the street to support the army and the air force shot down the missiles we are strong and they've been attacking and conspiring against syria for eight years but syria is strong and you know. we were watching and we have footage we can say we feel afraid but we was sure that we were going to shoot them down. with syrian president bashar says the strikes have hardened has resolved to fight what he called terrorism in his country earlier in the day syrian state television showed pictures of him walking into his office in damascus spoke to the leader of iran on saturday president hassan rouhani said will continue to stand by syria but let's go there now and we're joined by a. professor of political science at the university of very good to have you with us on al-jazeera so we have of course heard from the iranians who are not at all happy about these strikes and but won't they respond and will they do so militarily do you think. i doubt very much if t

but neither president assad supporters put on a show of defiance in damascus while state t.v. shows him walking calmly into work. and tens of thousands cheer and cry as they bid farewell to winnie muddy mandela at a state funeral in so wet. u.s. president donald trump has praised american british and french missile strikes against the syrian government as perfectly executed and mission accomplished it's the most significant attack against president bashar assad and the first coordinated retaliation the last saturday suspected chemical attack on duma washington and its closest allies launched more than one hundred missiles targeting a scientific research facility in damascus and to chemical weapons storage facilities in their homes one that was also a military command center syria says it shot down thirteen incoming missiles over damascus while its ally russia says syrian forces intercepted seventy one cruise missiles throughout the country the strikes are currently being discussed yet another heated u.n. security council meeting this one called by russia so we'll bring you the

from berlin the united states britain and france launch military strikes on syria explosions rocked damascus the capital as the allies target syrian president assad's chemical weapons facilities response to suspected poison gas attacks that present from calls the crimes of a monster is warning russia and iran to cut their ties to the assad regime. i'm brian thomas thanks so much for being with us the united states and its allies britain and france have carried out air strikes on suspected chemical weapons facilities in syria now these strikes are in response to last week's alleged gas attack in the syrian town of duma which left dozens of civilians dead western leaders say they have proof that the syrian regime was responsible huge plus were reported around the capital damascus moments after the operation was announced syria's main ally russia says more than one hundred missiles were fired but that many of them were intercepted by syrian air defenses the pentagon says the strikes were a one time shot and that no further attacks are planned. now this is the biggest intervention by western pow

britain and france launched military strikes on syria explosions rocked the capital damascus as missiles head syrian chemical weapons so it's become a response to suspected poison gas attacks that present from almost the crimes of a monster he's warned russia and iran to cut their ties to president bashar al song . i'm dr thomas thanks so much for being with us the united states and its allies britain france have carried out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons facilities in syria now these strikes are in response to last week's alleged gas attack in the syrian town of duma which left dozens of civilians dead the german chancellor on the macro has joined other western leaders in voicing support for the strikes calling them necessary and appropriate huge blasts were reported around damascus moments after the operation was announced apart from the capital as far as targeted sites near homs which the u.s. are linked to chemical weapons production syria says about one hundred twenty missiles had been fired at its territory and that it had intercepted many of them the pentagon says the st

both damascus and its ally russia describe claims of a chemical attack as fabrication. in to the aftermath of an air strike. they find an injured man. while the politicians talk, this is the reality in douma. martin patience, bbc news, beirut. syrian state media says the evacuation of fighters from douma is under way. on sunday evening a deal was reached between the russian military and the rebels to allow them to leave the city. douma is the last rebel—held town in eastern ghouta. reports say 100 buses have started ferrying out some 8,000 jaish al—islam fighters and 40,000 of their family members. the buses will now head for opposition—held areas in the north of the country. state television has also shown people held by the rebels, in some cases for years, now released and arriving at an army checkpoint to be greeted by theirfamilies. kamran bokhari is senior analyst with the intelligence firm, geopolitical futures. thank you forjoining us. who do you think is behind this attack? thank you forjoining us. who do you think is behind this attack7m thank you forjoining us

comes as inspectors from the international chemical weapons watchdog are in damascus to investigate a suspected attack near the capital within forty people died in duma in eastern guta eight days ago syrian government forces say they've now retaken the area as the last rebel fighters leave and how to report. it's being described as the biggest victory for syrian president bashar assad since the start of the conflict eastern huta has returned to state control after almost six years for weeks the enclave on the doorsteps of the capital damascus came under heavy fire hundreds of civilians were killed the pro-government alliance was also accused of using chemical weapons in the main town of duma before the last rebel group surrendered the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is sending a team to the site to investigate those claims the u.s. and its allies didn't wait for the organizations findings they said they had their own evidence and launched air strikes targeting syria's chemical weapons facilities the strikes were not about threatening bashar assad's hold on power b

down several missiles in damascus. right i'm going to get a stop what i'm saying now because we're going to go right to the pens again in washington and let's listen to what the defense secretary james mattis has to say. on april seventh the regime decided to again defy the norms of civilized people showing callous disregard for international law by using chemical weapons to murder women children and other innocent we and our allies find these atrocities inexcusable as our commander in chief the president has the authority under article two of the constitution to use military force overseas to defend important united states national interests the united states has a vital national interest in averting a worsening catastrophe in syria and specifically deterring the use and proliferation of chemical weapons last year in response to a chemical weapons attack against civilians and to signal the regime to cease chemical weapons use we targeted the military base from which the weapons were delivered earlier today president t

>> these are people who have survived the seven-year war in damascus. the joke in syria are these events are sponsored by the ministry of spontaneous events. i saw this seven years ago this month where you would have syrian army literally shooting into crowds of funeral procession and the next day the celebrations on behalf of the syrian president all while he had gone underground. what you're seeing here again is this window thats are open where president assad with the backing of the russianss can can can spend the day now using syrian-state concan trolled tv to control a victory. >>> any video coming in from the ground from social media that appears to show something going wrong, something not going the way the pentagon told us it did. >> and when they go to this four-way split, you can can see the army or police are blocking off the areas. and yowl are arer see on the left is aleppo. it's pretty much in lock down. soethe journalists that are there are not able to get to it. you can be sure there's going to be strict control over these pictures. ther

and france was in damascus it was an eastern damascus and it was hitting a scientific lab but looking at that shot there you wouldn't know anything had happened a tool that strike overnight did hit damascus it also hit two targets two chemical weapons facility targets near homes in another part of the country also enjoy a very reports now in the last seven years of the war and how these limits is sort of strikes have not been able to stop chemical weapons attacks there is a warning here that some of us may find some of the images disturbing. another batch of syrians forced to leave their homes. these are nearly four thousand people displaced from doumani of the syrian capital damascus where the latest suspected chemical attack happened. we lived in birthdays in eastern guta especially in the last three days with the original creation in juba which used resulting in suffocation cases among the civilians. with force displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in chemical attacks were unthinkable for these protesters in two thousand and twelve in the beginning really mobile videos us

i've been speaking to you in damascus. tell us what do you know about these chemical fits and what impact it might have on assad's regime, the fact they've now been targeted. >> i don't think it will have any sort of impact at all in the wider military picture in syria. i don't think any of the main military capabilities of the assad government have been hit. it's unclear at this point whether any airfields might have been hit or any sort of infrastructure. it doesn't seem as though this was something that was targeted as sad's conventional military forces that have been prosecuting a campaign against the rebels in syria. i've already been in touch this morning with folks in damascus. some of them were quite rattled when the air strikes happened in the middle of the night. it seems as dawn has come, many believe this attack had a lot less impact than they would have thought initially. they believe that many of the missiles were intercepted. that's something both the syrian government and the russians said that many missile

the mood in damascus since that. it started off with a sense of fear and concern but now it's a sense of jubilation, if you'd like. i've been for a very short period into the streets of damn discussion. you've seen pro-assad protests within the centers of the squares, in the main areas around damascus. you've soeen the syrian pages posting pictures of assad going to work as normal but after that it was a message of what you could describe as defiance to the united states and it show as message that these people are definitely defiant and have taken their own actions in this war. >> independent journalist danny makki inside damascus. tensions remain high in the middle east after the united states, united kingdom and france launched those attacks in an already unstable region. rami, thank you for being with us. we were just talking to somebody in damascus, in talking to a syrian journalist, we were tacking about the russian involvement there. i think it's time as we close up the hour to pull back to about 5,000 feet an

the first target was a scientific research center located in the greater damascus area this military facility was a syrian center for the research development production and testing of chemical and biological warfare technology the second target was a chemical weapons storage facility west of holmes we assessed that this was the primary location of syrian sharon and precursor production equipment the third target which was in the vicinity of the second target contain both the chemical weapons equipment storage facility and an important command post well in the commons the french foreign minister told me that that there had to be consequences all the suspected chemical attack. in the action we have taken has very limited and very precise objectives to destroy the chemical weapons arsenal of syria and to stop a committee more chemical county and continue its terrorist strategy towards its own population that we're not trying to hurt citizens we're trying to dissuade assad from these criminal activity that well the. from the french capital we are expecting or expected to the french pres

we will get more from damascus.to the news of airstrikes in syria in the last few hours. some other stories for you this morning: donald trump has called the former director of the fbi an "untruthful slime ball". the us president was reacting after james comey compared him to a mafia boss in his upcoming book. mr comey was fired last year over his handling of the inquiry into hillary clinton‘s emails. his sacking led to claims the white house was interfering in an investigation on possible collusion between russia and the trump presidential campaign. iam about i am about to meet with a person who doesn‘t know me, who has just been elected president of the united states, by all accounts and from watching him during the campaign, could be volatile, and i‘m about to talk to him about allegations that he was involved with prostitutes in moscow and that the russians take it and have low bridge over him. —— taped it. —— leverage. the funeral service of winnie mandela is to be held in south africa this morning. the anti—ap

images an upbeat president assad welcomed russian politicians to damascus signaling that the u.s. led strikes did not pose a threat to his hold on power russia says it's firmly behind us ally. relations between the russian and syrian army's are excellent so relations between politicians the army would now fulfill its task. russia and the assad government are not the only ones defiant the pentagon showed off satellite images of the destruction saying the strikes completely destroyed two targets and seriously damaged another one and damascus was reduced to rubble. we have a responsibility as a world to attack and stop what syria is doing and so the united states with her allies one after three sites these are pinprick targets three targeted sites that we know were housing and testing chemical weapons it's these people that were affected by the poison gas attack but triggered the u.s. led strikes thousands of refugees from eastern guta live in the scum near aleppo many a disillusioned. i feel nothing because the us britain and the rest of the world have taken away our emotions they t

should back in damascus or. deputy foreign minister greeted a team from the international chemical weapons watchdog despite western allies already having launched retaliatory strikes inspectors will now determine whether police and gas was used in duma but they will not assign blame. we're being joined now by allister hay an expert in chemical warfare and he has been involved in the analysis of chemical weapons in iraq joining us now from leeds in the u.k. press or thank you so much for being here let's start with the question of whether there's any evidence that any of the sites attacked were used actually for the manufacture of storage of chemical weapons as the u.s. is claiming what we certainly know about the laboratory outside damascus that was clearly one that was testing our chemical weapons and inspectors had collected evidence from this some time ago from one of the few coppers in the bar so that was unequivocally testing substances the syrians refuse to acknowledge that the evidence was there now syria

now the army is mobilizing on the front lines in southern damascus. and the opposition controls a number of districts there it seems the priority will be the battle with ice so before a deal is offered to the rebels that would end all opposition presence in and around the capital where thousands gather to celebrate syria's independence day and this year the government is marking the anniversary from a position of strength has never been this comfortable since the start of the conflict more than seven you. jennifer there they route after a series of delays russia says international inspectors will intervene on wednesday to investigate an apparent chemical attack that follows emergency talks i think global chemical weapons watchdog the u.s. accused russia of tampering with the site of moscow blame delays on security concerns a fact finding team arrive in syria on saturday will try to establish if the chemical attack happened on april seventh it will not assign blame. witnesses of the apparent gas attack and told al jazeera they felt the effects of a poi

has nobody put the question to themselves why does damascus need this there were insults against the syrian government however of the syrian leadership however the main burden of responsibility was pinned on russia and iran and i think that this is hardly surprising to anybody at this point now this has been done based on current trends immediately without any investigation being conducted on eight april the syrian troops sweeping through move. in near duma found a home made a manufacturing area of jewish of islam to manufacture chemical substances are tizen only chlorine agents of german manufacture and special equipment were also discovered. and you stumble at the opposition journalist outside hama who is base put on his twitter page or a video allegedly from the area of the incident to this has probably from the white home it an individual is next to a handmade bomb with a chemical which allegedly which allegedly struck the vege room of a building in duma. all of this is accompanied by comments about another attack by the regime against civilians the stage the nature of this actio

coming up in syria rebel fighters were forty two three to a deal to give up a key stronghold near damascus the plight of civilians trapped there means unclear . and overtures to a trade war in response to u.s. president troops punitive terrorists china imposes let me use all the u.s. products of. following terry martin thanks for joining us north korean leader kim jong un says his heart swelled after attending a rare concert in pyongyang by musicians from south korea it's the first such performance in more than a decade and some say a sign of improving ties between the two countries also coincides with the start of annual military drills between the u.s. and south korea. sized careers k. pop girl bands red velvet and girls' generation among others played the kind of music that has been taboo in the north. that's north korean leader kim jong un was in the audience in the capital pyongyang and feeling the groove. over one hundred size korean musical artists came to perform in north korea for the first time in thirteen years things got really interesting at a theater in pyongyang when size ko

were threats really made by akbar velayati the top advisor to the iranian supreme leader he wasn't damascus just two days ago and he said first he promised a retaliation against the israeli airstrike that targeted the syrian air base and killed iranian personnel but he also issued a threat to the united states telling them that their troops in syria are considered occupying forces and that the next phase there will be a military operation east of the euphrates where these u.s. troops are based and we are going to kick out an expel these troops from the area so the iranians are also threatening the americans we also remember there are american troops in iraq as well and there is an uneasy relationship there in iraq so there could be an indirect confrontation between the iranian allies and the united states in iraq so the iranian the pro iranian alliance if you like in the region have cars and its hand as well geopolitical around the fixations many thanks for explaining some of those bring us the view from coming back to shortly i'm sure . you know what saying all special extended rolling cov

preventing the chemical attack in syria according to several media reports there were explosions in damascus heard right after the u.s. president's speech arabic media said six powerful blast occurred in the syrian capital as far as a district where scientific centers are located and sources say that a strike at targets included a research center the airport and special units barracks the syrian military claims it intercepted more than twenty missiles in london u.k. prime minister theresa may said that there were no alternatives to striking syria since all diplomatic means had been exhausted while at the pentagon u.s. secretary of defense jim madison and general joseph dunford said no additional attacks are planned at this time he also said it is difficult to get evidence of chemical weapons attacks out of syria russia's ambassador to the u.s. has slammed the attack saying that u.s. actions in syria will have consequences right now we are joined live by dr. who is a professor school of international affairs in the pot in india thanks for being with us here on our team international. so russi

the targets three syrian facilities near damascus and the city of homs the u.s. calls the strikes a success. we stress that this kind of aggression will not stop our army but the syrian government says it won't be intimidated and its russian allies claim to have shot down most of the incoming missiles. into the program but it's over nine hundred g.m.t. that's new and in damascus you're watching al-jazeera english extended coverage of the u.s. led military action against bashar al assad it's the biggest intervention to get by western powers against syria's government since the war began more than seven years ago now the u.s. britain and france have hit regime targets with the barrels of airstrikes from ships and the fighter jets in response to a suspected poison gas attack last week u.s. president donald trump announced the operation and explosions were heard in syria's capital damascus now the government's key allies of responded with anger russia has warned that there will be consequences iran says it's a clear violation of international laws as dawn broke in da

that is in eastern ghouta near damascus. it has been hard fought overin damascus. last few weeks. what are you hearing about the casualties from this apparent chemical attack? what we can't be clear about is exactly what has happened but we have seen at the same pictures, the same videos that you have been hearing back in the uk, seeing and hearing back in the uk, seeing and hearing back in the uk, seeing and hearing back in the uk. we are extremely concerned and distressed about these reports. what we can be crystal clear about is there is no time and place for any kind of attack with chemical weapons, the use of chemical weapons is prohibited under international humanitarian law. and there have been many alleged chemical attacks on syria during the horrific conflict. it has been one of the most gruesome parts of the conflict in a sense. and depressingly it has been a core we have had to renew, what i have just been saying is this kind of attack is completely unacceptable and illegal. there is no time and place forehead and we have been reminding on all sides figh