Syrian opposition activists and rescuers said Sunday that the poison gas attack in Douma killed at least 40 people and that families were found suffocated in their homes and shelters, with foam on their mouths. Just over a year ago, Trump ordered dozens of cruise missiles to be fired at a Syrian air base after declaring there was no doubt Assad had "choked out the lives of helpless" civilians in an attack that used banned gases. The missile attack came shortly after US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning over an apparent "chemical" attack in Douma, the last rebel-controlled town in an eastern suburb of Damascus. President Trump on Sunday condemned a Saturday chemical attack in Syria and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran for backing Syrian President Bashar al Assad, who Mr. Trump called an “animal.”

“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. It said the claims were “fabrications” by the Army of Islam, calling it a “failed attempt” to impede government advances. Trump's decision to single out Russian President Vladimir Putin in a tweet for supporting Assad appeared noteworthy because Trump long has been reluctant to personally criticize the Russian leader. Trump has given no formal order to pull out the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria or offered a public timetable other than to say the U.S. will withdraw as soon as the remaining Islamic State fighters can be vanquished.
The death toll from yesterday's suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, rises to at least 70, according to the White Helmets group. The Syrian government and Russia deny the allegations of a chemical attack.