In this image provided by the US Navy, the USS Porter fires a Tomahawk cruise missile from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, April 7. On the orders of President Donald Trump, US warships launched between 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian government airfield. US officials said the Shayrat airfield was home to warplanes that carried out a chemical attack against civilians earlier in the week.
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The USS Ross fires a missile from the Mediterranean Sea. All of these warship photos were provided by the US Navy.
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A Tomahawk missile is fired by the USS Porter. When announcing the attacks, Trump said it is vital to the "national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."
Ford Williams/U.S. Navy/AP
Another view of a missile being launched from the USS Ross.
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The strikes are the first direct military action the United States has taken against the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's six-year civil war.
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"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," Trump said. "Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically."
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Thirty-six of the Tomahawks were fired from the USS Ross and the other 23 were launched from the USS Porter, a US defense official told CNN.
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Damage is seen in the area of the Shayrat airfield, near the Syrian city of Homs, on Friday, April 7. The Pentagon said the strike, which began at 8:40 p.m. ET Thursday (3:40 a.m. local time Friday), targeted aircraft, storage facilities and other logistical materials.
Mikhail Voskresenskiy/Sputnik via AP
People inspect debris near the Shayrat airfield. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the United States had carried out an "unjust and unabashed assault" against Syria which "shows nothing but short-sightedness, a narrowness of vision and a blindness to political and military realities."
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A plane is visible under an arch at the Shayrat airfield.
Mikhail Voskresenskiy/Sputnik via AP
The ground is blackened at the Shayrat airfield. A statement from Syria's general military command said the strikes caused "extensive material damage" and undermined counterterror operations by the Syrian army.
Mikhail Voskresenskiy/Sputnik via AP
Syrian jets remain parked at Shayrat. An initial damage assessment was that 58 of the 59 US missiles "severely degraded or destroyed" their intended targets, according to a US defense official.
Mikhail Voskresenskiy/Sputnik via AP
This satellite image, released by the US Department of Defense, is a damage assessment photo of the Shayrat airfield.
