Russian reinforcements head for Syria: Warships laden with tanks, military trucks and armoured patrol boats sail towards the Middle East as the world awaits Putin's response to airstrikes
- Project 117 Alligator-class landing ship was spotted at Bosphorus, Turkey en-route to Syria on Sunday
- The Russian vessel was laden with tanks, ambulances and IED radar after Friday's US-led Syrian air strikes
- A RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko was also seen carrying high-speed patrol boats, temporary bridge and trucks
- US, UK and French forces backed strikes that obliterated three targets in response to chemical weapon attack
- Vladimir Putin warned there would be 'consequences' to military action against him and Bashar al-Assad
Two
Russian warships laden with military vehicles have been spotted en route to
Syria after Friday's US-led airstrikes obliterated three suspected chemical weapons sites.
An Alligator-landing ship was pictured cruising down The Bosphorus on Sunday as the world awaits
Vladimir Putin's response to this week's co-ordinated military action against Syria.
The vessel was spotted on its way to the Russian naval base at Tartus on the north Syrian coast.
On its fourth deployment of Russian military equipment to the war-torn country the ship was seen laden with tanks, trucks, ambulances and an IED radar.
A yellow RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko was also pictured heading for Tartus carrying high-speed patrol boats, a temporary bridge structure and several trucks. The images were posted on social media by Bosphorus-based naval observer Yörük Işık.
They come in wake of Friday's US-led campaign against Bashar al-Assad's regime and a chemical weapons attack that brutally murdered 75 civillians.
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Two Russian warships laden with military vehicles have been spotted en route to the Syria after Friday's US-led airstrikes obliterated three suspected chemical weapons sites
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An Alligator-landing ship was pictured cruising down The Bosphorus on Sunday as the world awaits Vladimir Putin's response to this week's co-ordinated military action against Syria
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The Project 117 LST Orsk 148 ship was spotted loaded with military equipment (circled) on its way to the Russian naval base at Tartus on the north Syrian coast, where 11 ships were believed to have fled in anticipation of the strikes
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A map shows where the ships were seen on The Bosphorus, where they are believed to be headed at Tartus and the three sites targted by allied air strikes in response to the chemical weapons attack
The blue Project 117 LST Orsk 148 ship was carrying Soviet BTR-80 tanks, Ramaz trucks and a Pelena-1 bomb radar, used to detect IEDs.
A second yellow cargo vessel was equipped with a BMK-T boat used for building temporary bridges and an array of other military hardware.
The Russian warships approaching Syria come after the United States outlined new economic sanctions in response to Moscow's continued support of Assad's regime in Syria.
Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, said measures to be imposed on Monday will send a message to Russia after it blocked six UN attempts to investigate its use of chemical weapons.
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In Washington President Donald Trump stood by his comments that the strikes he commanded were a 'mission accomplished' after he was slated for repeating George W Bush's controversial use of the phrase during the Iraq war.
Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron today insisted the allied forces had not 'declared war' on Syria.
He told a French TV station: 'We have not declared war on the regime of Bashar al-Assad.' During the two-hour interview he also claimed he had 'convinced' Trump to maintain a military presence in Syria after the US leader threatened to pull out of the country entirely.
It emerged that Trump called Mr Macron twice before he shared his intention to strike Syria in a Twitter post. But he failed to call UK Prime Minister Theresa May in the early stages of the operation, giving the French leader the opportunity to claim France is America's leading ally in Europe.
Vladimir Putin condemned Friday's strikes as an 'act of aggression' that will worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria and have a 'destructive influence on the entire system of international relations.
But Trump has vowed to carry out more if Bashar al-Assad's regime dares to use chemical weapons again.
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A yellow RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko was seen cruising down The Bosphorus headed for Russia's naval base at Tartus, northern Syria with high-speed patrol boats, bridge boats and several trucks
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A high-speed patrol boat is pictured on board the Alexandr Tkachenko cargo vessel seen on The Bosphorus on Sunday
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Russian trucks were seen atop of the yellow cargo vessel in the Mediterranean on Sunday after Friday's airstrikes
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson today defended Britain's decision to stand up to 'barbarism' amid criticism of Mrs May for agreeing to the strike without a vote in the House of Commons.
Mr Johnson said failure to respond to Assad's use of illegal chemical weapons against his own people would have undermined 'civilised values'.
He said 'so far, thank heavens, the Assad regime has not been so foolish to launch another chemical weapons attack,' adding that Britain and its allies 'would study what the options were' in the event of another attack.
But amid fears of revenge attacks by Russia and criticism of Theresa May for acting without a Commons vote, Mr Johnson stressed there was no intention of getting more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war.
Concerns have been raised that a cyber backlash could see vital services including water supplies, gas networks, banks, hospitals and air traffic control affected.
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On its fourth deployment of Russian military equipment to Syria the ship was seen laden with tanks, trucks, ambulances and a bomb radar
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Pictured: The Project 117 LST Orsk 148 landing vessel is seen cruising down The Bosphorus on Sunday
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Russian trucks are pictured on top of a cargo vessel travelling towards Moscow's naval base at Tartus, northern Syria
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One of two targets hit at the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Storage site was the storage site (pictured) which was hit at the same time by 22 missiles. The astonishing images show what appears to be the main buildings reduced to rubble
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show today, Mr Johnson said: 'You have to take every possible precaution, and when you look at what Russia has done, not just in this country, in Salisbury, attacks on TV stations, on the democratic processes, on critical national infrastructure – of course we have to be very, very cautious indeed.'
UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the UK's air strikes 'legally questionable', forcing the Government to publish detailed legal advice justifying the bombings. Today Mr Corbyn demanded a 'war powers' law to ban the Prime Minister from taking military action without a Commons vote.
The official legal advice claimed 'the UK is permitted under international law, on an exceptional basis, to take measures in order to alleviate overwhelming humanitarian suffering'. Mrs May will face MPs tomorrow.
Asked if there were any circumstances in which he would back air strikes in Syria, the Labour leader replied: 'I can only countenance involvement in Syria if there is a UN authority behind it.
'If we could get to a process in the UN where you get to a ceasefire, you get to a political solution, you then may well get to a situation where there could be a UN force established to enforce that ceasefire. 'That surely would save a lot of lives,' he told the Andrew Marr Show.
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The second site outside of Homs was the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Bunker. It was the smallest and was wiped out by seven missiles
Some 75 people, including children, are said to have died when the Syrian regime used chlorine gas and another nerve agent in Douma last Saturday.
Aid workers told how chlorine could be smelled in the air and victims were found with foam in their mouth and with burning eyes.
Pope Francis told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he is `'deeply disturbed' by the international community's failure to come up with a common response to the crisis in Syria and other parts of the world.
'Despite the tools available to the international community, it is difficult to agree on a common action toward peace in Syria or other regions of the world,' the Pope told a crowd of 30,000 after his traditional Sunday blessing.
Assad continues to deny using any chemical weapons, telling visiting Russian politicians today that Western air strikes against his country were accompanied by a campaign of 'lies' and misinformation at the UN.
But in response to the deaths, scores of fast jets, fighters and destroyers fired more than 100 missiles at three military targets in Syria on Friday night.
The first and largest target in the airstrikes was the Barzah Research and Development Centre which was considered to be the 'heart' of the regime's chemical weapons program.
The second target was the Hinshar Chemical Weapons Storage Facility. It was destroyed by 22 weapons including Scalp and Storm Shadows and three Naval cruise missiles. The third target, the Hinshar CW Bunker, was hit by seven Scalp missiles.
Three civilians were injured but there have been no confirmed fatalities.
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Barzah Research Facility in northern Damascus was the main target of the attack. A total of 76 missiles pummeled this site alone. Smoke still lingered well after the attack that happened in the early morning darkness of 4am
Video playing bottom right...
The Pentagon shared details early on Saturday of the successful, coordinated missile attack on Damascus which set the
Syrian regime's chemical weapons program back 'years'.
At a press conference in Washington DC on Saturday morning, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie gave a detailed break-down of the 105 missiles launched, saying: 'This is going to set the program back for years. We attacked the heart of the Syrian chemical weapons program.'
He also rejected the Syrian media's claim that Assad's missile defense systems took down 71 of the missiles launched, revealing that none were compromised and that they were only fired once the coordinated attack was over. Russia also claimed missiles had been intercepted.
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Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show today, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the strikes were merely aimed at deterring the use of chemical weapons
Boris Johnson says 'contacts with the Russians haven't been good'
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A Syrian soldier films the damage at the site of the Barzah Scientific Research Center in Damascus on Saturday morning after it was annihilated by 76 missiles
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Smoke was still billowing from the site on Saturday morning, hours after the 4am air and sea missile attack
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Soldiers were putting out the flames and smoke on Saturday morning as US officials celebrated the attack and said 'mission accomplished'
Destroyed research lab caught on video after US strikes Damascus
All of the US aircraft returned safely to base after the attack. Gen. McKenzie did not say where the Lancer B-1 Bombers had flown from but other officials suggested they were deployed from an airbase in Qatar.
'We met our objective. We hit our target. It was mission accomplished,' White said on Saturday, repeating President Trump's tweet earlier in the day.
Hours after Trump hailed the missile strike targeting the Syria's suspected chemical weapons - tweeting, 'Mission Accomplished!' - Vice President Mike Pence defended the president while building support among U.S. allies for the joint strikes with Britain and France on Saturday.
'The objective of the mission the commander in chief gave our military forces and our allies was completely accomplished - with swift professionalism,' Pence told reporters, noting there were 'no reported civilian casualties.'
He also had a warning for Russia: 'Our message to Russia is, 'you're on the wrong side of history,' ' Pence also said. 'It's time for Russia to get the message President Trump delivered last night. 'You're known by the company you keep.'
Russia has military forces, including air defences, in several areas of Syria to support President Assad in his long war against anti-government rebels.
Confusion arose over the extent to which Washington warned Moscow in advance. The Pentagon said it gave no explicit warning. The U.S. ambassador in Moscow, John Huntsman, said in a video, 'Before we took action, the United States communicated with' Russia to 'reduce the danger of any Russian or civilian casualties.'
A Pentagon spokeswoman said that to her knowledge no-one communicated with Moscow other than to use a military-to-military hotline that has routinely helped minimise the risk of U.S.-Russian collisions or confrontations in Syrian airspace. Officials said this did not include giving Russian advance notice of where or when allied airstrikes would happen.
France has continued to talk regularly with Russia even as East-West tensions have grown. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, hours before the Western missile strikes.
Four Tornados from RAF Akrotiri conduct air strikes on Syria
UK Tornado warplanes take off from Cyprus before Syrian airstrike
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Satellite images show the Barzah Research Center, the main target, before and after the missile attack which took place at 4am local time on Saturday, 9pm EST on Friday. 76 missiles pummeled this site alone
The second target was the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Storage site which was hit at the same time by 22 missiles
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The third target, Him Shinshar CW Bunker, was the smallest and was wiped out by seven missiles
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This graphic issued by the Pentagon on Saturday illustrates how the attacks unfolded from air and sea. It does not represent exactly the number of ships or planes deployed by each country. The US used three destroyers and a submarine along with two B-1 Lancer bombers. France used at least two aircraft and four ships and the UK used four aircraft
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A map shows the location of the three targets. The Barzah Research Center was nearer the capital and the two storage facilities were to the north
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana White (left) and Joint Staff director Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie gave a briefing on the strike on Saturday and said it 'crippled' Assad's chemical weapon arsenal
French armed forces strike the chemical arsenal of Syrian regime
Between the jets and warships, 76 missiles annihilated the Barzah research center. Fifty-seven of those were Tomahawk missiles and 19 were Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles.
The Tomahawks were mostly fired from the USS Monterey, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and the USS Higgins, USS Laboon and the USS John Warner submarine.
France deployed its Mirage and Dassault Rafale jets and reportedly used four frigate warships. It is not clear how many aircraft were deployed. Britain is believed only to have fired missiles from its Torpedoes and Typhoon aircraft.
Other ships from each nation's military were in the region, including the USS Donald Cook, but did not fire any weapons. Despite the attack, White said the US was still committed to a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the ongoing civil war in Syria.
'Our goal has not changed. Our goal in Syria is to defeat ISIS....but Assad's actions were beyond the pale. We do not seek conflict in Syria but we cannot allow such grievous violations of international law,' she said.
'We will not stand by passively while Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, ignores international law.'
Iran condemned the Western strikes on Syria, saying no country has a right to take punitive measures against another 'beyond international procedures.'
The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that Iran had warned about the possibility that 'terrorist groups' were behind the alleged chemical attack that triggered the strikes. It said he communicated his concerns in a phone call with Boris Johnson on Sunday.
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