survivor of Syrian chemical attack to Trump: I want to 'buy you a beer'

A survivor of a Syrian chemical attack in 2013 wants to buy President Donald Trump a beer to share his experience on the conditions in the country.

Kassem Eid, who told CNN's Ana Cabrera he lived under two years of siege and bombardment by the Syrian government, said he was glad the President has attempted to do something for the Syrian people.

"I just want to tell Mr. Trump directly: I'm a Syrian refugee who survived chemical weapons attacks, who lived under two years of siege and bombardment by the government," Eid said. "I would love to, like, buy you a beer, and just sit in front of you and tell you how bad it is in Syria."

Eid also said he would tell Trump, that he "proved once again, yesterday, that you have a big heart. At least a lot more bigger than Obama because you actually tried to do something. We need real, long-term commitment to bring peace to Syria."

The United States, along with the United Kingdom and France, launched coordinated air strikes Friday evening on Syria's chemical weapons capabilities in response to an alleged chemical attack. In a speech announcing the attack, Trump blamed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On Saturday, Trump called the strike "perfectly executed," on Twitter, writing, "mission accomplished!"



The Syrian government has denied involvement in the chemical attack.

In August 2013, then-President Barack Obama said the US had determined that Syria had launched a chemical weapons attack targeting its own people. Obama opted to seek congressional approval over the use of military force in Syria. But as CNN has reported, "when Obama considered launching airstrikes in Syria against 2013, he decided to go to Congress before striking, and the resistance he faced there convinced the president not to hit Assad."

In 2014, Obama did announce a series of airstrikes against what the president described as "ISIL targets in Syria," using an alternate term for the terrorist group more commonly known as ISIS.

Trump launched a military strike against the Syrian regime nearly one year ago targeting a government airbase also in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed civilians.

Russia responds to airstrike with harsh words but no fire

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For the past week, Russian news media speculated dramatically about the looming onset of World War III. But soon after American cruise missiles finally slammed into Syria, Moscow made it clear it did not plan to escalate on the battlefield.

Russian officials from President Vladimir Putin on down condemned the strike as an act of aggression against a sovereign state carried out on the pretext of staged chemical attack. But reading between the lines, there was a second message: The incoming cruise missiles did not cross the threshold that would provoke a military response against Western forces.

Early Saturday morning local time, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that more than 100 missiles were fired by the U.S.-led coalition retaliating against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s suspected use of chemical weapons. But it added that no Russian air defenses were deployed against the incoming fire, even though thousands of its troops are stationed across Syria in support of Russian ally Assad.

Hours later, the Russian Embassy in Damascus said no Russians were known to have been hurt in the overnight airstrike. And the Defense Ministry even made sure to note that while Syria shot down some cruise missiles, Damascus did so using its own, Soviet-made — not Russian-made — equipment.

“Not a single one of the cruise missiles entered the zone of Russian air defense systems,” the Defense Ministry said.

Russian Ambassador in Turkey Shot to Death By A Gunman. (VIDEO)

A gunman wearing a suit and a tie has shot to death Russian diplomat at an Ankara art exhibition. After killing him, he was heard saying:





“Allah Akbar! Do not forget Aleppo!” said the gunman, according to the widely circulated video. “Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! As long as our lands are not safe, you will not be safe!"
WATCH THE VIDEOS BELOW:

2nd video

The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed.

CNN Turk television reported that shooting continued after the attack targeting the ambassador.