Defense Sec. Mattis: Syria Would Be 'Ill-Advised' to Use Chemical Weapons Again

Defense Secretary James Mattis warned the Syrian government on Monday that it would would be "ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons."

ABC News tweeted the Pentagon statement – also announcing that the April 6 missile strike that targeted a Syrian airfield damaged or destroyed 20 percent of Syria's operational aircraft.

NEW: Defense Sec. Mattis releases statement on US airstrike: "The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons" pic.twitter.com/vLvmTngQU7

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 10, 2017

The U.S. military fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea at the airfield in Homs, killing six and causing extensive damage – a "measured response" to the Assad's regime use of chemical weapons in a horrific attack on civilians in a town in northern Syria that drew international outrage.

"The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons," Mattis declared.

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