The Pentagon said Tuesday the United States has seen chemical weapons activity at Syrian air base used in past chemical attack.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman at the Pentagon, confirmed what was first announced in a White House statement Monday night: Syrian President Bashar Assad appears to be taking some of the same actions he took before a chemical weapons attack on his own people in April.
“We had seen activity at Shayrat Airfield, the same airfield we struck in April, that indicated active preparations for chemical weapons use,” Davis said.
That’s the same airfield the United States attacked on President Trump’s orders in April following a previous chemical weapons attack. The Syrian military used that airfield to launch the planes that carried out the attack.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer warned in a statement Monday the United States would not hesitate to take action if another attack looked imminent.
“The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children. The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack,” the statement read.
“As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”
