Trump: US, allied strikes aimed at Syria's chemical weapons

The United States, France and Britain launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Pentagon officials said the attacks targeted the heart of Assad's programs to develop and produce chemical weapons.

Explosions lit up the skies over Damascus, the Syrian capital, as Trump spoke from the White House.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Friday, April 13, 2018, in Washington, about the United States' military response to Syria's chemical weapon attack on April 7. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Syrian television reported that Syria's air defenses, which are substantial, responded to the attack. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said there were no reports of U.S. losses in what he described as a heavy but carefully limited assault.

Trump said the U.S. is prepared to sustain economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Assad until he ends what the president called a criminal pattern of killing his own people with internationally banned chemical weapons.

"The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children, thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man; they are crimes of a monster instead," Trump said.

Mattis, however, said the assault was a "one-time shot," so long as Assad does not repeat his use of chemical weapons.

The strikes were carried out by manned aircraft and from ships that launched cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Friday, April 13, 2018, in Washington, about the United States' military response to Syria's chemical weapon attack on April 7. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Mattis disclosed that the U.S. had not yet confirmed that the most recent suspected Syrian chemical weapons attack, on April 7 in the Damascus suburb of Douma, included the use of sarin gas. He said at least one chemical was used — chlorine, which also has legitimate industrial uses and had not previously triggered a U.S. military response.

Mattis said the targets selected by U.S., British and French officials were meant to minimize civilian casualties.

"This is difficult to do in a situation like this," he said, in light of the volatility of chemical agents.

At a Pentagon news conference alongside Mattis, and with British and French military officers beside them to emphasize allied unity, Gen. Joseph Dunford said the attacks targeted mainly three targets in western Syria.

Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said missiles first struck a scientific research center in the Damascus area that he said was a center of Syrian research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological warfare technology. The second target was a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs. He said this was believed to be the main site of Syrian sarin and precursor chemical production equipment.

The third target was a chemical weapons equipment storage facility and an important command post, also west of Homs, Dunford said.

Explosions lit up the skies with anti-aircraft fire, over Damascus, the Syrian capital, as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, early Saturday, April 14, 2018. Syria's capital has been rocked by loud explosions that lit up the sky with heavy smoke as U.S. President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for the country's alleged use of chemical weapons. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

British Prime Minister Theresa May said in London that the West had tried "every possible" diplomatic means to stop Assad from using chemical weapons. "But our efforts have been repeatedly thwarted" by Syria and Russia, she said.

"So there is no practicable alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime," May said. "This is not about intervening in a civil war. It is not about regime change."

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that a target of the strike was the Syrian government's "clandestine chemical arsenal."

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied any use of banned weapons.

The decision to strike, after days of deliberations, marked Trump's second order to attack Syria. He authorized a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles to hit a single Syrian airfield in April 2017 in retaliation for Assad's use of sarin gas against civilians.

Mattis estimated the latest air campaign was about twice the size of the 2017 strike. He added that the U.S. expects the Syrian government and its allies to conduct a "significant disinformation campaign," which the Pentagon would rebut with additional information Saturday morning.

The air campaign could frustrate those in Trump's base who oppose military intervention and are wary of open-ended conflicts.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, joined by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, speaks at the Pentagon, Friday, April 13, 2018, on the U.S. military response, along with France and Britain, to Syria's chemical weapon attack on April 7.​ (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump chastised Syria's two main allies, Russia and Iran, for their roles in supporting "murderous dictators," and noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed a 2013 international agreement for Assad to get rid of all of his chemical weapons. He called on Moscow to change course and join the West in seeking a more responsible regime in Damascus.

"Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path, or if it will join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace," Trump said. "Hopefully, someday we'll get along with Russia, and maybe even Iran — but maybe not."

The Russian ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, condemned the airstrikes and warned that "such actions will not be left without consequences."

The U.S. missile strike a year ago, which targeted the airfield from which Syrian aircraft had launched their gas attack, was meant to deter Assad from further use of chemical weapons. Since that did not work, a more intense attack would aim to degrade his ability to carry out further such attacks, and would try to do this by hitting Syrian aircraft, military depots and chemical facilities, among other things.

The strikes that hit early Saturday in Syria came hours before inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were set to arrive to inspect the site of the apparent attack.

A broader question is whether the allied attacks are part of a revamped, coherent political strategy to end the war on terms that do not leave Assad in power.

The strikes appear to signal Trump's willingness to draw the United States more deeply into the Syrian conflict. Just weeks ago, Trump said he wanted to end U.S. involvement in Syria and bring American troops home to focus on the homeland. The participation of British and French forces enables Trump to assert a wider international commitment against the use of chemical weapons, but the multi-pronged attack carries the risk of Russian retaliation.

Dunford said the U.S. did not coordinate targets with or notify the Russian government of the strikes, beyond normal airspace "de-confliction" communications. But the description from an ally described things differently.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly said that "with our allies, we ensured that the Russians were warned ahead of time."

In his nationwide address, Trump stressed that he has no interest in a longtime fight with Syria.

"As other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home," Trump said. "And great warriors they are."

The U.S. has about 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria as advisers to a makeshift group of anti-Islamic State fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. They are in eastern Syria, far from Damascus. A U.S.-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes in Syria since September 2014 as part of a largely successful effort to break the IS grip on both Syria and Iraq.

Jarrod Agen, Vice President Mike Pence's deputy chief of staff, said Pence called congressional leaders from his hotel suite in Lima, Peru, to notify them of the president's plan to address the nation about the Syrian air strikes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Residents of New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District will have a representative in Congress for the first time this year after a special election on Thursday to fill the U.S. House seat most recently held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

A Democratic victory in the Democratic-leaning district would further narrow the slim majority Republicans hold in the chamber.

The major party nominees to replace Sherrill are Democrat Analilia Mejia, a longtime progressive organizer and former Labor Department official, and Republican Joe Hathaway, a member of the Randolph Township Council.

Mejia, who had the early backing of progressive stalwarts U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, narrowly won the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary against a crowded field that included former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski and former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way. Malinowski was attempting a comeback after losing a neighboring House seat in 2022.

Hathaway ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas War and support for Israel has been a major issue in the campaign. A super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $2.3 million to defeat Malinowski, who had questioned providing unconditional aid to the Israeli government. During a primary campaign forum, Mejia was the only candidate to indicate she believes Israel committed genocide in Gaza. She has also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal. Hathaway has said the U.S. should stand “ in lockstep ” with Israel and opposes putting conditions on aid to an ally.

Mejia had raised about $1.1 million for the special primary and special election and had about $374,000 in her campaign account as of March 27. Hathaway had raised about $525,000 for his campaign and had about $109,000 in the bank.

Democrats have held an advantage in general elections in the district. Sherrill won reelection in 2024 with about 57% of the vote, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with 53% at the top of the ballot.

More than half of the district’s 588 precincts are in Morris County, with about 39% in Essex County and 9% in Passaic County. The district’s portion of Essex County is heavily Democratic: Harris carried the area with 64% in 2024. President Donald Trump narrowly won the district’s share of Morris County by about one percentage point. He carried the district’s small portion of Passaic County with about 57% of its vote.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

New Jersey does not have automatic recounts, but candidates and voters may request and pay for them, with the cost refunded if the outcome changes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

The AP will provide vote results and declare a winner in the special congressional election in the 11th District. In addition to the candidates named on the ballot, voters also have a write-in option.

Any voter registered in the 11th District may participate in the special election.

As of April 1, there were about 603,000 registered voters in the 11th Congressional District. Of those, about 230,000 were Democrats, about 165,000 were Republicans and about 204,000 were not affiliated with any party. The remainder were registered with various minor parties.

More than 68,000 ballots were cast in the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary and about 16,000 in the Republican contest.

About 394,000 votes were cast in the 2024 general election, with nearly half cast before Election Day.

As of Tuesday, about 58,000 votes had already been cast, including about 36,000 from Democrats, about 15,000 from Republicans and nearly 8,000 from unaffiliated voters.

In the Feb. 5 special primary, the AP first reported results at 8:04 p.m. ET, or four minutes after polls closed. The last update of the night was at 10:30 p.m. ET with about 91% of total votes counted. The AP called the race at 5:34 p.m. on Feb. 12.

All counties in New Jersey release most or all the results from early and absentee voting in the first vote update of the night, before any in-person Election Day results are released.

As of Thursday, there will be 201 days until this seat is up again in the 2026 midterm elections.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

An American flag hangs outside the Office of the 11th Congressional District in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert Yoon)