According to a U.S. defense official, Russian troops were on the Syrian Airbase struck by 50+ Tomahawk Cruise Missiles on Thursday evening.
In retaliation to a chemical attack conducted by the Assad Regime on Tuesday, 50+ cruise missiles struck Shayrat Airfield, the believed origin of the chemical assault. According to a U.S. defense official, there were Russians troops at the airbase.
It is unclear at this time what those Russian troops role were at the base, and it has been stated that the Russians were given warning prior to the attack to evacuate their troops from the area in order to prevent any casualties on their side.
As of this writing, there is no official battle damage assessment from the strikes. However, out of the 50+ missiles that were launched, all managed to connect with their exact target with a 100% success rate. It is unclear if any Russian troops were injured in the attacks, but it has been officially released that the U.S. knew about the Russian presence on the base, and warned them before the missile strike was initiated from the Mediterranean Sea by the U.S. Navy.
