Pentagon denies conducting air strikes in Syria after alleged chemical attack

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Children recovering in hospital after gas attack on rebel-held Douma A suspected poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, near the Syrian capital, has killed at least 40 people, according to Syrian activists, rescuers and medics.

The Pentagon denied it was conducting air strikes in Syria in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack on civilians, despite reports from Syrian media.

Syria’s state-run news agency said the military’s air defenses confronted a missile attack on air base in central Syria early Monday and shot down eight missiles.

The report on SANA says the attack on the T4 military air base in Homs province “is likely to be an American aggression.”

SANA says the attack resulted in a number of casualties. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, said 14 people were killed, most of them Iranians or members of Iran-backed groups.

A statement released by the Department of Defense Sunday night denied it had fired missiles and said it would "continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable."

President Trump lashed out Sunday against the alleged chemical weapons attack by Syrian government forces on civilians, ripping "that animal Assad" and laying blame for the Syrian president's power on Russia, Iran and even former president Barack Obama.

Trump's tweet storm came hours after the White Helmets, a civil defense force in rebel-held areas of Syria, claimed that entire families were gassed to death Saturday night in Douma and Eastern Ghouta. The group, which put the death toll at more than 40, said many residents were hiding in cellars, suffocating from poison gas.

Syrian state media said Sunday that rebel forces led by the Army of Islam had agreed to leave Douma within 48 hours as Syrian leader Bashar Assad tightened his grip on rebel strongholds around Damascus.

"Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria," Trump said on Twitter. "Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world."

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The attack came less than a week after Trump, speaking about Syria, declared: "I want to bring our troops back home." A day later, however, the White House signaled that a U.S. withdrawal from Syria is not imminent.

On Twitter on Sunday, Trump demanded that the area be opened up for medical help and verification of a chemical attack, which would constitute a war crime. He called the attack another "humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!"

Trump blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran for providing support to Assad. Trump also appeared to blame Obama for allowing Assad to cross his predecessor's "stated Red Line In The Sand." If Obama had acted years ago, Trump said, the Syrian crisis would have ended long ago and Assad would have passed into history.

Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

The United Nations Security Council on Monday will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the suspected chemical attack, reports the Associated Press. The meeting was called by the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Kuwait, Peru and the Ivory Coast, says the AP.

Reuters says the U.N. Security Council will meet twice on Monday, following a request from Russia as well to discuss "international threats to peace and security."

A statement from U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calls on all parties to cease fighting.

"The Secretary-General is particularly alarmed by allegations that chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations in Douma," it said in part. "While the United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports, the Secretary-General notes that any use of chemical weapons, if confirmed, is abhorrent, and requires a thorough investigation."

More: How do we prevent ISIS 2.0? Withdrawing from Syria is not the answer.

The attack comes a year to the day after Trump authorized a military strike on a Syrian government airfield after a sarin gas attack that killed at least 85 people in Khan Shaykhun.

Russia on Sunday said allegations of a chemical attack are a ruse aimed at justifying military strikes by foreign forces and warned of grave consequences in case of any military retaliation.

"It is necessary to once again caution that military intervention under false and fabricated pretexts in Syria, where the Russian servicemen stay at the request of the legitimate government, is absolutely unacceptable and may trigger the gravest consequences," the Russian Embassy in Washington said on its Facebook page.

The White Helmets said more than 500 people, most of them women and children, were brought to local medical centers with symptoms consistent with exposure to a chemical agent. Patients showed signs of respiratory distress, burned eyes, foaming of the mouth and other symptoms that included "emission of chlorine-like odor," the group said.

The reports could not immediately be independently verified. Syria called the claims "fabrications," and Iran and Russia also denied that any chemical weapons were used.

More: CIA Director Pompeo challenged Trump plans to withdraw from Syria

More: Syria's civil war has been raging for 7 years and no end in sight

Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for the Iran Foreign Ministry, said the claims were an excuse for U.S. military action. Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, who heads Russia's center for Syrian reconciliation, blamed the allegations on White Helmets' "fake news."

"We strongly reject this information and confirm readiness after Douma is liberated from militants to send Russian specialists in radiation, chemical and biological protection to collect data to confirm that these statements are fabricated," Yevtushenko said.

The civil war has been raging in Syria for seven years. The U.N. estimates more than 400,000 people have died. An additional 5 million have fled the country, and 6 million more have abandoned their homes but remain within the beleaguered nation of less than 20 million people.

Syrians are no strangers to chemical weapons. An attack in Syria's Idlib province by government forces a year ago killed almost 100 people, including women and children. An investigation by the international watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that sarin nerve gas was used on the town of Khan Shaykhun.

A stand by @SyriaCivilDefe teams to denounce the chemical massacre perpetrated by the regime against the children and residents of the besieged #Douma in #EasternGhouta. #Assad_Bombing_Douma_Chemical pic.twitter.com/WTr6XTMlqz — The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) April 8, 2018

Photos and video of the aftermath that included children dying on camera sparked global outrage directed at the Assad regime. Trump cited the images when he launched cruise missiles on a Syrian-controlled air base.

Fred Hof, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that the use of chemical agents again would be a "signal of utter contempt" for the U.S.

“Assad may be interpreting (Trump’s) recent statements about the United States 'getting out of Syria' as a green light to do what he wants,” Hof said. He also warned that Obama’s "erasure" of the chemical weapons red line in 2013 had destabilizing implications — including damage to America’s credibility — far beyond Syria. Hof said Trump can either erase his own red line or take action, as he did in 2017.

Sen. John McCain said in a statement on Sunday that Assad and his Russian and Iranian supporters have been "emboldened by American inaction."

"President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria. Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him," McCain said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the chemical weapons report "grim." The European Union called it a matter of "grave concern" and called on Syria, Russia and Iran to prevent further attacks.

The Syrian Women's Political Movement on Sunday urged the international community to end its "blatant complacency." The group issued a statement calling for the U.N. to send in teams to investigate Saturday's attack and to treat the victims.

"The ongoing silence of the international community and its failure to protect civilians in Syria is a disgrace for humanity," the statement said. "One that history will remember."

Contributing: Oren Dorell, and the Associated Press.