The U.S. military launched 59 missiles from two Navy ships in the Mediterranean on Thursday night - killing six people in a Syrian air base, the BBC reported.
It is the first direct U.S. military action against forces commanded by the Syrian president Bachar al-Assad, and is being labeled as a response to the chemical attack on civilians in the northwestern province of Idlib earlier this week, which left >at least 58 people dead in Khan Sheikhoun.
A Syrian military source strongly denied the army had used any such weapons, according to Reuters. Similarly, the Russian Defense Ministry said none of their jets carried out airstrikes in the area of Khan Sheikhoun Tuesday, according to a ministry statement carried by state-run TASS, CNN reported.
When announcing the strikes, U.S. president Donald Trump described the suspected chemical attack as "very barbaric" and said the decision would "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," according to the New York Times.
Trump has repeatedly >criticized former U.S. president Barack Obama when he considered military action against Syria in 2013, for allegedly using chemical weapons at the time.
People on social media are using this moment to highlight what they view as hypocrisy on the part of Trump, especially in light of this 2013 tweet directed at Obama.