Rumors swirled throughout the day Thursday that President Trump's Executive was considering military action against Syria, in response to the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. During Thursday evening prime time television broadcasts, NBC's Lester Holt broke into regular broadcasting to report that missile strikes had, in fact, begun by the U.S. military.
At least 50 cruise missiles directed toward Syrian airbase
According to NBC's breaking news, and repeated on the network's social media accounts, the U.S. military launched a targeted missile attack on a Syrian airfield in the country's largest province of Homs. It is believed that the Ash Sha'irat airbase was the origin of the chemical attack on civilians earlier this week.
That chemical attack is believed to have killed at least 100 people, with at least 23 of the victims being children. Governments around the world have been discussing how to react to the attack since Tuesday, as the use, production, or storage of chemical weapons is illegal under the United Nations' Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
While there is no confirmation of casualties in the missile strike, officials have told NBC that aircraft and infrastructure on the base were the intended targets, not people.
No word from President, Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was clear in his assessment of Al-Assad and the Syrian government's alleged use of illegal sarin gas. Saying this is the third use of chemical weaponry by the Al-Assad government over the course of the last month, Tillerson told reporters, "It is clear that this is how Bashar Al-Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism."
As the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons continued to look into Tuesday's attack for those responsible, it would seem that the evidence gathered by Tillerson has been enough to sway Trump's previously held views on military action against Syria.
In 2013, the President tweeted against former-President Obama's plans for a military strike against Al-Assad after the Syrian government allegedly used chemical gases against civilians in a suburb of Damascus:
As of 10 p.m. Eastern time, Trump has yet to issue a statement in regard to Thursday's military action. The President and members of his inner circle traveled to his Florida resort, Mar-a-Largo earlier today in order to meet with President Xi of China.