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3 Russian theories on why the US hit Syria

Russian analysts have differing theories on just how and why the United States bombed a Syrian air base.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) transits the Mediterranean Sea on March 9, 2017. Ford Williams/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS   ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX34H5Z

It looks like the on-again, off-again US-Russia relationship in the Syrian civil war suffered another painful, if not fatal, blow last week when the United States launched cruise missiles at a Syrian regime airfield in retaliation for a gas attack on Syrian civilians.

The US action triggered a predictably harsh reaction in Moscow, which has been calling for a thorough investigation of the April 4 poison gas attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun. The gas attack killed dozens of people and injured hundreds. Syria has denied using chemical weapons in that attack.

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