Military assets might be used in Syria strike

WASHINGTON: As global leaders pledged a strong reaction Tuesday to the latest suspected chemical attack in Syria, the countdown toward a military strike against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime appeared to have begun.Here is a look at some of the main military assets that could be involved in an offensive.

UNITED STATES: When President Donald Trump last year ordered a strike against Assad following a deadly sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun, the US Navy launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the eastern Mediterranean. This year, the Porter and the Ross are both conducting operations in the Northern Atlantic, well out of range of a Syria strike. But the USS Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, left port at Larnaca, Cyprus on Monday and is within easy striking range of Syria. Additionally, the USS New York is underway in the Mediterranean, though the amphibious transport ship is unlikely to be directly involved in a strike. The Tomahawks used last year targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars at the Shayrat air base.

FRANCE: If France joins a strike, it could launch its Rafale warplanes from French soil and use aerial refueling to get them to the target region. Another possibility is launching strikes from a multi-mission frigate equipped with cruise missiles. A French military official said France permanently has such a ship in the eastern Mediterranean.

BRITAIN: Like France and the United States, Britain has established a heavy military presence in the Syrian region as it has supported the fight against IS. As of 13 February 2018, Britain had conducted 1,700 airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria. Royal Air Force Akrotiri is a big base on Cyprus from where Britain launches many of its anti-IS raids in Syria.