Washington, April 18: US President Donald Trump's administration carried out a retaliatory strike on Syria last week even though intelligence agencies did not have absolute certainty that the Assad regime had used the nerve agent sarin against civilians, a media report said.
The decision to proceed with the strikes on the night of April 13 met a standard of evidence needed that officials felt they could accept, intelligence and defence sources told CNN on Tuesday.
Administration officials were adamant that whatever was used by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to attack civilians in Douma on April 7 was a chemical agent and that alone justified taking action.
The lack of complete information played a role in deciding not to strike a larger set of targets including airfields, aircraft and helicopters, a defence official told CNN.
Other factors, like Russian positioning, also played a role in the decisions.
On Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of Defence James Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chair Joseph Dunford held a classified briefing for senators on the Syria strike that was launched in coordination with France and the UK.
Before the briefing, officials would not comment on whether the intelligence had become more certain post-strike.
Witnesses reported seeing at least one helicopter overhead at the time of the Syrian attack that had taken off from an airfield.
But at the time, intelligence officials did not have a full picture of the event, which would have included intercepts of conversations and verified paths that helicopters flew, the sources told CNN.
Prior to the US strike, full confirmation could not be made of whether Syria had used sarin in its attack.
"It's a hard, long process, especially in an attack like this without physical access to victims, site. Therefore we had to work with closest allies quickly to ensure we had confidence in the intelligence picture, enabling policymakers to choose best course of action," an intelligence official told CNN.
The Trump administration determined a "standard of evidence had been met", the official added.
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Himachal BJP leader files complaint seeking FIR against Rahul for 'defaming' PM
Shimla (PTI): A BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday filed a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for allegedly defaming the prime minister and endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Chief of BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha in the state Rakesh Dogra filed the application at Chhota Shimla police station here, making reference to a letter sent by BJP president J P Nadda to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Reacting to a letter written by Kharge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take action against ruling NDA members for making highly objectionable and violent statements against Rahul Gandhi, Nadda on Wednesday wrote a three-page letter to the Congress president, giving a gist of abusive and defamatory references made by Gandhi against Modi.
In the past 10 years, Gandhi abused the prime minister more than 110 times and it is a matter of regret that even the top leadership of Congress party was involved in it, Nadda had said in his letter.
In his complaint, Dogra said Nadda's letter is self-explanatory and describes the unfortunate remarks not only by Gandhi but also by the Congress under his influence.
"I urge you to investigate the matter and take appropriate legal action by registering FIR against Rahul Gandhi under relevant sections," he said.
The complaint was filed against Gandhi's defamatory statements about Modi recently which not only harmed the prime minister's reputation but also endangered sovereignty of the country, said BJP state media in-charge Karan Nanda.
