US may form coalition to attack Syria

Unnamed US officials said on April 9 that the Trump administration is considering a multinational military strike on Syria but did not disclose specific plans, according to Reuters.Reuters.

The information was released in the context of Mr. Trump's announcement that he would soon decide on a response to Syria regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, which killed about 70 people.

According to experts, France, Britain or Middle Eastern allies will be potential partners of the US in any future military intervention campaign in Syria.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned in February that his country could strike Syria if Damascus violated the chemical weapons treaty. France currently has 12 fighter jets in the Middle East and could strike Syria from the sea.

Meanwhile, British Ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce said London was also discussing with its two allies Washington and Paris about countermeasures and all options were on the table.

Experts say the attack, if carried out, would target Syrian facilities linked to recent reports of chemical attacks, such as the Dumayr air base, which houses Mi-8 helicopters believed to have been used by the Syrian army to drop chemical weapons.

Alternatively, a more provocative strike could target Hmeymim airfield in northwestern Syria, identified by the White House as the location from which Russian warplanes have launched their bombing campaign in the capital Damascus and Eastern Ghouta.

Jennifer Cafarella, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, said Syria may be studying how to deal with a potential attack from the US, as its air defense system on April 9 shot down five out of eight missiles believed to have been launched by Israeli aircraft at the T-4 base in eastern Homs province./.