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'Mission Accomplished': Trump Praises 'Perfectly Executed Strike' in Syria

© AP Photo / Cliff OwenRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up while addressing the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Conference in Washington. (File)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up while addressing the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Conference in Washington. (File) - Sputnik International
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The US president has commented on the Western missile attack on Syria, which has been slammed as "brutal aggression" by Damascus, saying the "mission is accomplished."

US President Donald Trump has praised the joint missile strike conducted by Washington, Paris and London, thanking them for "wisdom and power," saying that it had been "perfectly executed." He went on to praise the armed forces of the United States, "the finest that our Country has ever had." He added that no country will ever get close to the US in terms of military power.

​The statement comes Donald Trump ordered an attack on Friday against "civilian and military facilities" in Syria, that was backed by the UK and France. The US warships Porter, Cook и Higgins conducted the attack from the Red Sea, and the French and UK Mirage and Tornado jets interacted with US B-1 bombers over the Mediterranean Sea. More than 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles were launched as part of the attack; 71 of them were intercepted by the Syrian air defenses, according to the Russian military.

The attack has divided the international community, with Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia supporting the strikes. Germany has also backed the move, though Berlin has refused to take part in the operation.

READ MORE: What We Know So Far on Syria Missile Strike Before Probe Into "Chemical Attack"

Other states, including Russia and Iran, have condemned the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strikes an "act of aggression against a sovereign state that has been fighting against terrorism" and Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei criticized US President Trump, French President Macron and UK Prime Minister May, calling them "criminals." 

May 29, 2017. Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves an entry in the Honored Visitor Book of the National Museum of Versailles and Trianon, Versailles. Right: French President Emmanuel Macron - Sputnik International
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has condemned the strike, adding it will increase the government's resolve to "fight and crush terrorism in every inch" in Syria. The Syrian Foreign Ministry also said the strikes were aimed at "hindering the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] mission's work and preempting its results."

READ MORE: Illegal, Reckless or Blessed, Morally Justified? US Congress on Attacks on Syria

The strikes were launched hours before the OPCW team was slated to arrive in the city of Douma to inspect the site of the alleged chemical attack. The Western states swiftly put the blame for the alleged Douma attack, which was first reported by Syrian opposition media on April 7, on Damascus. Despite the lack of evidence, Donald Trump announced the possible military action against Syria last week, saying in a tweet "get ready Russia."

The Russian military has refuted the reports about chemical weapons use in the area of Eastern Ghouta, where Douma is located, saying doctors from Douma had denied media reports about receiving patients with symptoms of exposure to toxic substances.

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