(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 20 militants loyal to Bashar al-Assad killed in the British airstrikes on chemical sites in central Homs province, local activists said Saturday.
The two sites were a center for scientific research, which specialized in manufacturing the chemical weapons, and army depots where the chemical products are being stored.
Both sites are located in the western countryside of Homs, a pro-regime area controlled by allied militias.
Ahmed Suleiman (pseudonym) said the research center in the town of Nuweiha, 17 km (11 miles) west of Homs, is specialized only in the production of chemical weapons in cooperation with the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission.
The British defense ministry said the "initial indications" showed that the pre-dawn airstrikes were a "successful attack".
The U.K., U.S. and France launched the attacks near Damascus and Homs.
The Pentagon said Saturday that a joint U.S.-British-French operation against Syria's regime had "successfully hit every target," countering assertions from Russia that dozens of missiles were intercepted, AFP reported.
The three allies used ships, a submarine and warplanes to launch a barrage of 105 guided missiles towards three chemical weapons facilities in Syria, officials said, including a research center on the outskirts of Damascus.
The strikes "will significantly impact the Syrian regime's ability to develop, deploy and use chemical weapons in the future," said Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, director of the U.S. military's Joint Staff, though he noted a "residual" element remained.
British Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as neither "about intervening in a civil war" nor "about regime change," but a limited and targeted strike that "does not further escalate tensions in the region" and does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.
May says, "We would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none."
May and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest developments in Syria over the phone on Saturday, according to Anadolu agency.
According to presidential sources, Erdogan highlighted the importance of not escalating tension in Syria further during talks with May.
The phone talks came after the U.S., U.K., and France launched airstrikes on the Assad regime's alleged chemical weapons facilities in Syria earlier on Saturday.
While May informed the Turkish side about the operation against the Assad regime, Erdogan said Turkey always condemns the use of chemical weapons, the source added.
Erdogan said the only way to end Syrian regime’s persecution through chemical and conventional weapons as well as to establish lasting peace in the country was via a political solution.
On April 7, the White Helmets, a civil defense agency, said the gas poison attackon the town of Douma had 78 civilians and injured hundreds of others.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
"A perfectly executed strike," President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday in the aftermath of his second decision in two years to fire missiles against Syria. "Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!"
His choice of words recalled a similar claim associated with President George W. Bush following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Bush addressed sailors aboard a ship in May 2003 alongside a "Mission Accomplished" banner, just weeks before it became apparent that Iraqis had organized an insurgency that tied down U.S. forces for years, AP reported.
Syria's chief allies, Russia and Iran, called the use of force by the United States, Britain and France a "military crime" and "act of aggression" with the potential to worsen a humanitarian crisis after years of civil war. The
U.N. Security Council planned to meet later Saturday at Moscow's request.
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