TRUMP: I’D HIT ASSAD AGAIN

DONALD Trump last night warned he would do it again after unleashing a surprise attack on the Syrian regime.

In the first direct American raid on Bashar al Assad’s forces, the US President authorised the firing of 59 cruise missiles at a military airfield.

Officials said it was retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons and would ‘prevent and deter’ further atrocities.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said her country had taken ‘a very measured step’. She added: ‘We are prepared to do more but we hope that will not be necessary.’ In other political developments last night: Moscow said the US was now on the verge of a clash with Russian forces in Syria; The dramatic U-turn by Mr Trump, who had condemned military interventions in the Middle East, caused anger from his supporters; Nigel Farage said Trump voters would be

‘scratching their heads’ at his move;

The UK Government backed the ‘entirely appropriate’ missile blitz;

Labour was in chaos as Jeremy Corbyn issued a condemnation.

The American action drew a furious response from the Kremlin, which accused the US of violating international law.

The former Cold War superpowers clashed at the UN Security Council where a Russian envoy claimed US aggression had strengthened terrorism.

Russia’s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Facebook that the airstrikes put the US ‘on the verge’ of clashing with Russia’s military. He added: ‘This military action is a clear indication of the US President’s extreme dependency on the views of the Washington establishment, the one that the new President strongly criticised in his inauguration speech.

‘Soon after his victory, I noted that everything would depend on how soon Trump’s election promises would be broken by the existing power machine. It took only two and a half months.’

Mrs Haley told the UN that the Russian government held ‘considerable responsibility’ for Assad’s use of chemical weapons. ‘Every time Assad has crossed the line of human decency, Russia has stood beside him,’ she said.

He had terrorised his country and shocked the conscience of the world, Mrs Haley added. ‘He murdered hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.’

On Tuesday Assad launched ‘yet another chemical attack, murdering men, women and children in the most gruesome way’, Mrs Haley said.

‘Assad did this because he thought he could get away