US military strike on Syria: Such attacks serve terrorists' purpose, says Homs province Governor

In wake of the United States carrying out a military strike on the Syrian Government's al-Shayrat airbase in response to Tuesday's chemical weapon attack, Talal Barazi, governor of Syria's Homs province, where al-Shayrat airbase is located, has told State TV that such strikes serve the purpose of terrorists.

'Syrian leadership and Syrian policy will not change. This targeting was not the first and I don't believe it will be the last. The armed terrorist groups and Daesh [ISIS] failed to target the Syrian Arab Army and Russian military positions,' he said.

The U.S. strikes 'targeted military positions in Syria and in Homs specifically' in order to 'serve the goals of terrorism in Syria and the goals of Israel in the long run,' he added, The Guardian reports.

Barazi added that firefighting and rescue operations had been continuing for more than two hours and insisted that the airbase, which the U.S. said was the site from which the sarin nerve gas attack on Khan Sheikhun was launched, was used to support Syrian regime operations against ISIS.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization that monitors the war, said al-Shayrat airbase has been almost completely destroyed. There are reports that some troops have been killed, but this is as yet unconfirmed, as reported by the Guardian.

Earlier, Syrian State TV responded to the U.S. military strike by dubbing it as 'American aggression,' albeit without much detail.

'American aggression targets Syrian military targets with a number of missiles,' The Guardian reported State TV as saying.

Hours after launching the strike, Trump called on all 'civilized nations' to stop the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria. He also asserted that Assad 'choked out the lives of innocent men, women, and children.'

'Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention, and ignored the urging of the UN security council,' he said.

'Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies. Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types,' he added.

On Trump's orders, U.S. warships launched between 50-60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syria Government airbase where the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks were based, U.S. officials said.

Trump had famously said the chemical attack in Syria's Idlib province affected his deeply and transformed his thinking about Assad.

Dozens of people, including at least ten children, were killed and over 200 injured as a result of asphyxiation caused by exposure to an unknown gas on Tuesday.

The death toll is said to be at least 67, according to activist al-Diab, while the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported it to be 58.

The High Negotiations Committee claimed the death toll could be as high as 100 with up to 400 injured

-ANI