News of the U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria made headlines all over the world on Saturday, but just how much of a dent did the super precise missiles make?

On the face of it, the strikes came across as a resounding military success.

More than 100 missiles obliterated three chemical weapon factories over the course of 45 minutes starting at 4AM, with vice-president Mike Pence announced that they “crippled the chemical weapons capability of Syria”.

Cute.

Of course, Trump couldn’t help himself, tweeting his official comment on his decisive mode of action:

But according to those in the know, the strikes aren’t going to make any real difference, reports The Guardian:

The attack, critics said, was an expensive firework display, executed without any long-term plan for peace in Syria or coherent geopolitical strategy. Syrian exiles opposed to the regime decried its modest ambition. They predicted that Assad would continue to murder his opponents exactly as before.

[R]esidents in Damascus appeared unbothered by the missiles and flares which had lit up their city over the weekend. As one resident, Khalil Abu Hamza, who lives near the scene of one attack, said: “I slept through it.” He added: “This was a pantomime, anyway.”

Then again, the strikes, carried out by the U.S., France and UK, were never about changing the course of the war; this strike was purely about destroying chemical weapon production.

However, a series of satellite images continue to impress, showing how 105 missiles accurately hit their targets.

The biggest accomplishment was the 76 missiles that landed exactly on the Barzah Research and Development centre, while leaving neighbouring buildings untouched, reports Daily Mail.

Below, before and after:

The second target in the joint campaign was the Hinshar Chemical Weapons Storage Facility, which “was destroyed by 22 weapons including Scalp and Storm Shadows and three Naval cruise missiles”:

And the third target, the Hinshar CW Bunker, was hit by seven Scalp missiles.

In case you have your head in the sand, the missile attack was a response to last week’s suspected chemical weapons attack in the former rebel stronghold of Douma, reports CNN:

[T]he images from the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, just after the international solidarity shown with Britain over the Skripal case, catapulted the three Western powers into action.

And there you have it.

[source:cbc&theguardian