4 children among 9 civilians dead in US Syria strike: state media

This image released by the US Department of Defense, shows the Shayrat airfield in Syria on October 7, 2016. US President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike on a Syrian air base on Thursday in retaliation for a "barbaric" chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al-Assad. The US military fired dozens of cruise missiles at the Shayrat Airfield at 8:45 pm Eastern Time (0000 GMT), officials said. / AFP PHOTO / US Department of Defense / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / US Department of Defense" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
This image released by the United States Department of Defense, shows the Shayrat airfield in Syria on October 7, 2016. US President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike on a Syrian air base on Thursday in retaliation for a “barbaric” chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al-Assad. / AFP PHOTO / US Department of Defense /

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — A United States missile strike targeting an airbase in central Syria killed nine civilians, including four children, on Friday, state news agency SANA reported.

The news agency said five of the civilians were killed in the village of Shayrat just outside the base of the same name.

It said four more were killed in two other nearby villages — Al-Hamrat and Al-Manzul.

Washington said it fired a barrage of 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat base in response to what President Donald Trump called a “barbaric” chemical attack on a rebel-held town on Tuesday that he blamed on the Damascus regime.