A US warship reportedly was heading off the coast of Syria in the Mediterranean Sea. The report comes after President Donald Trump threatened the Syrian regime, including with a military option on charges of chemical attacks in Douma.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Pentagon sources as saying, within the next few days the US Navy's second warship may have entered the Mediterranean Sea.
The US has now deployed one destroyer type warship, USS Donald Cook, in the eastern Mediterranean. According to US defense officials, the ship could at any time launch a missile (missile) attack against Syria.
The second battleship that was heading off the coast of Syria was the USS Porter.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet wrote that Russian warplanes buzzed on board USS Donald Cook at least four times. However, the report was dismissed by the Pentagon.
President Trump and his national security team have discussed options including a military option against President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime. Trump feels the United States should act after Assad's regime reportedly carried out a chemical attack on civilians in Douma on Saturday last week with the death toll of dozens.
Trump said he would likely make quick decisions and ignore military attack options after seeing images of women and children falling dead in their homes in Douma.
"It will be filled, and it will be filled with force, when? I will not say it," Trump said, Monday night before meeting with US military leaders.
A White House official said during a meeting with his national security team, Trump was angry to see images of Syrian children killed and wounded.
"We can not allow such cruelty," Trump said. "We will make some big decisions over the next 24 to 48 hours," Trump continued.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Syria, but did not generate consensus for an international response. Washington itself threatened to act against the Syrian regime with or without a UNSC mandate.
Trump for the first time dared to mention Russian President Vladimir Putin to take responsibility for what Bashar al-Assad did as an ally of Russia.
"Everybody will pay a fortune," Trump said. "He (Putin) will (pay), everything will (pay)," added Trump.
The Syrian and Russian regimes rejected allegations that Damascus carried out a chemical attack on Douma. According to Moscow, the attack was made by NGO White Helmets and Western-backed Jaish al-Islam. The goal is to slander Assad's regime to be attacked by Western countries.
The Russian and Syrian military claimed to have examined the area in Douma and found no traces of chemical toxins. The hospitals around Douma were also not patient victims of chemical attacks.
Moscow and Damascus even called on the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to conduct an investigation in Douma. The Syrian regime guarantees the safety of OPCW experts during the investigation.
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