Syrian Airfield Less Damaged After US Missile Attack Than Reported - Employee

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Sputnik correspondent reported earlier in the day from the scene of the attack that some hardware had been salvaged, including five Syrian fighter jets. The runway also seemed to have been spared, he said, as well as a few hangars, but eight others were taken out of service

"Turns out everything is maybe not as bad as it seemed in the beginning, because at first there was fire and smoke, and we still are unable to get everywhere, because there can be unexploded projectiles," the employee said.

On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

Homs Governor Talal Barazi said earlier on Friday that the airbase had suffered insignificant damage after the overnight attack with US cruise missiles.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Syrian authorities were investigating the exact number of civilian victims following the US attack.