Japanese NGO Staff Working in Syria Frightened by US Missile Attack

The employees of the Japan-based aid nongovernmental organization (NGO) Japan Platform working in Syria were frightened by the US missile strike on the military airfield near Homs, Japanese media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday night, the US military launched multiple cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, near the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the missile attack was a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's Idlib province on Tuesday.

According to the NHK broadcaster, an official of the Japan Platform aid group contacted the staff working in the crisis-torn Middle Eastern state after the US strike, and the workers said they were frightened by the attack.

The NGO expressed hope that the US operation was a one-off action, however, the unpredictability of the situation caused the workers' concern about their future, the news outlet added.

Following the missile attack, the governor of the Homs province said that seven people were killed, including two civilians from a village located in the vicinity of the airfield. An officer of the Syrian Armed Forces told Sputnik that the attack claimed the lives of 10 people.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, six MiG-23 aircraft, an education building and a radar station were destroyed in the attack. A Sputnik correspondent reported from the airbase that some aircraft, including five fighter jets were not harmed in the attack and the runway had not been significantly damaged.