4 Children Among 9 Civilians Dead in US Syria Strike
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A US missile strike targeting an airbase in central Syria killed nine civilians, including four children, Friday.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said five of the civilians, among them three children, were killed in the village of Shayrat just outside the base of the same name, AFP reported.
"An American missile also hit the village of Al-Hamrat, which killed four civilians including a child," it added.
"Another seven civilians were wounded when a missile hit homes in Al-Manzul, four kilometers (two and a half miles) away from the Shayrat air base," it added.
Washington said it fired a barrage of 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat base.
US officials said Russian commanders in Syria were informed of the strike beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis.
The Syrian army had said earlier that six people were killed in the strike on the base -- the first time that the US has directly attacked the government of President Bashar Assad.