WASHINGTON–The Pentagon said in a press briefing Thursday that last week’s retaliatory strikes in Syria significantly reduced the likelihood of Syria using chemical weapons any time soon.
Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said that air surveillance shows probable presence of chemical sources, including chlorine and sarin, at the targeted storage facilities. He said images of the sites demonstrate the precision and success of the strikes.
“We believe there was probably chlorine and possibly sarin at possibly all of the sites,” he said at the briefing. “The image is pretty compelling that those three targets were knocked out.”
Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White said there have been no reports of civilian casualties, and she reiterated that last Friday’s mission reduced the possibility for another attack.
“We have seen no indication the Assad regime is prepared to launch another chemical weapons attack, she said. “However, we remain vigilant.”
This is the second airstrike President Donald Trump has authorized in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own citizens. In April 2017, The United States launched 60 cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria after 80 civilians died in a chemical attack by Assad’s regime.
The U.S. has been operating in Syria since 2014 after ISIS gained control of territory in the region, but White said Friday’s airstrikes were “separate and distinct” from the U.S. mission against ISIS.
White also said Russia began spreading a “misinformation campaign” after the airstrikes.
“Following our operations, Russia falsely claimed Syrian air defenses shot down a significant number of missies, when in fact we hit all of our targets,” she said.
Russia called for a condemnation of the United States from the United Nations Security Council after last week’s attacks, which was voted down by all but two countries. China and Bolivia voted in support of Russia’s proposal for a resolution.