The first minister of Scotland questions how the strikes will halt the use of chemical weapons.

President Bashar al-Assad's government has repeatedly denied ever using chemical weapons and accused rebels of "fabricating" the incident in Douma last Saturday.

The government insists its entire chemical arsenal was destroyed under a deal brokered by the US and Russia after an attack in August 2013. Then, rockets filled with the nerve agent Sarin were fired at several opposition-controlled suburbs of Damascus, killing hundreds of people.

However, experts from the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have ascribed four confirmed chemical attacks to the government since then, including one on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017, that also involved Sarin and left 80 people dead.

Image source, Getty Images

The chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, has said the strikes would directly affect the regime's chemical weapons' capability.

"They will lose years of research and development data, specialised equipment and expensive chemical weapons precursors.

"The strike was not only a strong message to the regime that their actions were inexcusable, but it also inflicted maximum damage without unnecessary risk to innocent civilians."

The chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, has said the strikes by the US, UK and France are a groundless attack on a sovereign government, the Interfax news agency reports.

"It's also highly likely an attempt to create complications for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons mission which was just starting its work in Syria's Douma, or an attempt to completely derail it," he is quoted as saying.

Experts from the OPCW are scheduled to visit the previously rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday to try to ascertain whether chemical weapons were used in an attack last Saturday that opposition activists, medics and rescue workers say killed more than 40 people.

The Syrian government has said the incident was fabricated, while its ally Russia has said it was staged with the help of the UK.

Iran has denounced the "tripartite aggression" against its staunch ally, the Syrian government, and warned of "regional consequences", Hezbollah's al-Manar TV reports, external.

AFP news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying on his Telegram channel: "The United States and its allies have no proof and, without even waiting for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take a position, have carried out this military attack... and are responsible for the regional consequences."

Iran is believed to have deployed hundreds of troops and spent billions of dollars to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war.

Thousands of Shia Muslim militiamen armed, trained and financed by Iran - mostly from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, but also Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen - have also fought alongside the Syrian army.

Syria's state news agency, Sana, reports that missiles fired on Saturday at a military position in Homs province were "thwarted and diverted from their path". However, three civilians were injured, it says.

The US military said earlier that it had targeted a chemical weapons storage facility west of the city of Homs.

State TV meanwhile reports that strikes only caused material damage to the branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) in the northern Damascus district of Barzeh.

A building that housed a training centre and laboratories was destroyed, according to the report.

A Western intelligence agency told the BBC last year that the SSRC facility was being used to manufacture chemical munitions - an allegation the Syrian government has repeatedly denied.

"While I support President Trump’s action in Syria, I pray that the real civilian and military leaders of our nation and of Russia would be more careful and avoid going nuclear," writes Harry Kazianis at Fox News, external

"As for sceptics of further US involvement in Syria, the president reiterated Friday evening what he had been saying for days, even before the chemical weapons attack - namely, that he wanted to bring US troops home and to hand responsibility for stability in the region to local leaders," writes Joel B Pollak, editor-at-large at Breitbart News., external

Earlier this week, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of Infowars launched an emergency 34-hour broadcast to "Stop World War with Russia".

So when the news emerged on Friday that it had all been in vain, he broke down in tears and vented an expletive-ridden attack on President Trump, his aides and the liberal media.

"We made so many sacrifices and now he's crapping all over us. It makes me sick," he said.

But others were warmly applauding, like conservative commentator S E Cupp.

The Russian defence ministry has said the US-led strikes did not target areas near Russia's naval and air bases in Syria.

"Not one of the cruise missiles released by the US and its allies entered the zone of responsibility of Russian air defences protecting facilities in Tartous and Humaymim," a statement said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russia's military launched an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015 that has been crucial in turning the tide of the war in his favour.

Image source, Reuters

UN Secretary General António Guterres says he has been following the reports of the strikes by the US, UK and France - three of the five permanent members of the Security Council - and warns that all member states have an obligation to “act consistently with the Charter of the United Nations and with international law in general”.

He went on: “The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. I call on the members of the Security Council to unite and exercise that responsibility.

“I urge all member states to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances and to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people.”

Mr Guterres also expressed his “deep disappointment” that the Security Council has failed to agree on a dedicated mechanism to investigate alleged uses of chemical weapons in Syria. The US and Russia vetoed each other’s proposals for setting up an investigative body on Tuesday.

The human rights group Amnesty International has urged the US and its allies to protect civilians.

“The people of Syria have already endured six years of devastating attacks, including chemical attacks, many of which amount to war crimes," Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Middle East North Africa at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement, external.

"All precautions must be taken to minimise harm to civilians in any military action. People already living in fear of losing their lives in unlawful attacks must not be further punished for the alleged violations of the Syrian government."

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons begins its fact-finding mission in Douma later.

The investigators announced it would deploy a team to Syria on 10 April to establish what happened and if chemical weapons were used.

A former British foreign secretary has said military action can only be successful when it is part of a political strategy.

In a tweet, David Miliband said "the need for a diplomatic offensive is more imperative than ever".

The Syrian government has said it evacuated all of its military bases in preparation of the strikes and was now assessing the damage.

An official told Reuters news agency: "We had an early warning of the strike from the Russians... and all military bases were evacuated a few days ago.

"Around 30 missiles were fired in the attack, and a third of them were shot down."

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says in a statement that the strikes will "reduce the regime’s ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons".

Multiple targets have been bombed as part of a joint operation by the US, UK and France targeting what they called the Syrian government's "chemical weapons capabilities".

A resident of the Syrian capital tells the BBC's Riam Dalati, external: "It was mayhem above us. Most of the missiles were shot down."

The resident said they saw more than 20 anti-aircraft missile being launched early on Saturday.

"They'd fly really high then start weaving across, like they were following their target. I didn't see the cruise missiles, but I saw some falling debris nearby."

Republican Senator John McCain applauded the actions of President Trump. But he warned that a "comprehensive strategy" was needed and called on the commander-in-chief to set out his goals.

A similar tone was struck by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez who said: "Military strikes are no substitute for a real strategy."

Russia has criticised the Western allies and their decision to strike Syria as it says the country was working towards peace.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war for more than seven years, which started with pro-democracy demonstrations but now involves different religious and ethnic groups, and jihadist groups like Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook: "Those behind all this claim moral leadership in the world and declare they are exceptional.

"You need to be really exceptional to shell Syria's capital at the moment when it had gained a chance of a peaceful future."

Why is there a war in Syria?

BBC producer Riam Dalati says this video was filmed in the Syrian capital, Damascus, early on Saturday.