World Reacts to US Attack on Syria

The Kremlin said the attack was based on an "invented pretext", saying the Syrian army did not have chemical weapons.

Moscow — a key Syrian ally — said the unilateral US action would cause "significant damage to US-Russia ties" and create a "serious obstacle" to creating an international coalition to defeat Daesh.

According to the statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin regards the strikes as an attempt to distract from the 150 civilians killed by the US during attacks last week in Mosul.

While US defense department officials reported that they informed Russian military officials of the attack, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that there had been no communication at the political level with Russian officials prior to the attack.

Earlier on Thursday, Russia's UN ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, said in response to reports of a potential US strike on Syria "If there is a military action, all responsibility will fall on those who have started a company so tragic and dubious."

Both Russia and Syria have denied responsibility for a chemical attack in Idlib province on Tuesday, both suggesting that the deadly chemical weapons were part of an opposition weapons cache which was attacked by Syrian forces.

Late on Thursday, Syrian state television reportedly condemned the "US aggression against Syrian military objectives."

The governor of Homs province in Syria where the strikes took place reported that there were casualties.  Talal Barzani added that the attacks would "serve the goals of terrorism in Syria and the goals of Israel in the long run."

He was adamant that the attacks would not deter Syria in its ongoing war with internal opponents, "Syrian leadership and Syrian policy will not change. This targeting was not the first and I don't believe it will be the last."

The Syrian Coalition, an opposition group labeled a terrorist organization by the Assad government, said they "welcomed the attack and ask Washington to neutralize the capacity of Assad to carry out attacks," according to a statement by Ahmad Ramada, a spokesperson for the group, TeleSUR reported.

Major Jamil al-Saleh, a US-backed Syrian opposition commander, said he hoped the US attack on a government air base would be a "turning point" in the six-year war.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the "unilateral action is dangerous, destructive and violates the principles of international law."

He added that Iran condemned the missile launch "regardless of the perpetrators and the victims" of Tuesday's chemical weapons attack in Syria."

He also warned it would "strengthen terrorists" and further add to "the complexity of the situation in Syria and the region.

The UK government issued a statement supporting the unilateral US attack.

"The UK government fully supports the US action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks," said the statement issued by Downing street early Friday, accusing Syria of the chemical attack.

During a press conference Friday morning, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had phoned him ahead of the strike to inform him.

Turnbull said he "strongly supports" Trump's attack on Syria saying the reported Syrian chemical attack on Friday was "crime that called out for a swift response."

At the same time, he said that "we are not at war with the Assad regime."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement early on Friday morning saying that Israel "fully supports" the US attack.

As news of the attacks broke, markets in Asia responded with the price of a barrel of oil rising slightly to US$52.70.