US Navy fires tomohawk missiles
© US Navy
A Russian daily said the 36 Tomahawk missiles that were lost and never struck their target in the US strikes at Syria's Shayrat airbase last week have most possibly been intercepted by Russian fighter jets.

The Russian language Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily said in its Wednesday issue that 36 Tomahawk cruise missiles that the US navy fired at the Syrian Shayrat airbase on Thursday were possibly intercepted by the Russian warplanes.

The paper further argued against the speculations that US missiles have been targeted by the S300 or S400 air defense systems that are protecting Tartus and Humeimim bases.

The Russian daily wrote that the US missiles were possibly targeted by Sukhoi-35s and Sukhoi-30 SM that are capable of intercepting and hitting Tomahawk missiles.

The Russian paper added that the US navy planned to only fire 36 missiles from destroyer Ross, but after they were intercepted by the Russian air force, it gave the mission to its destroyer Porter to fire another 23 missiles at Shayrat airbase as the Russian warplanes were returning to their bases.

The United States carried out a missile strike on the Shayrat airfield late Thursday in response to an alleged chemical attack on a militant-held town in Idlib province the blame for which Washington immediately pinned on the Bashar al-Assad government.

Washington failed to provide any proof that the Syrian government was behind the purported gas attack, with Damascus categorically denying the US accusation.

According to reports, around 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched at Shayrat military airfield in Southeast of Homs city. US military ships in the Mediterranean launched the strike on Syrian airbase, killed and wounded several civilians.

The US military claims it racked up a perfect score in its cruise missile strike on Syrian airfield in Homs province, targeting aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage areas, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars.

But, the Russian Defense Ministry assessed the efficiency of the US strike as quite poor, and disclosed that only 23 out of 59 Tomahawk missiles had reached their target while the points of impact of the remaining 36 missiles were unknown.

The US strike has been condemned by Tehran and Moscow, two main allies of Damascus in fight against terrorism, while the Syrian Armed Forces' General Command also deplored US missile attack on Shayrat military airport, adding the move made clearer that the US is a partner of ISIL and Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) terrorists in the war-hit country.