'They are easy and inexpensive to quickly fill': Trump uses Twitter to defend and explain decision not to target Syrian airfield's runways during missile strike

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President Donald Trump used Twitter to defend his decision not to strike a Syrian airfield's runways during Thursday's attack. 

'The reason you don't generally hit runways is that they are easy and inexpensive to quickly fix (fill in and top)!' he wrote in a tweet Saturday. 

The remark came after reports said two planes took off from the runway Friday, one day after the attack. 

Trump took to Twitter to defend not targeting runways, which Russia said remained intact

Trump penned a letter to tell Congress why he bombed Syria without their permission

Videos from inside the Shayrat air base showed fighter jets and hangars destroyed and runways pocked with holes after the strike in the pre-dawn hours Friday. 

Still, the impact on President Bashar Assad's military capabilities is limited: His air force has more than a dozen other bases from which to operate. 

Analyst Reed Foster said about the attack: 'Although the strike will further weaken the overall air defense and ground attack capabilities of the (Syrian air force), it will not significantly diminish the ability of the Assad regime to conduct further chemical weapons attacks.' 

The Kremlin maintained only 23 of the 59 cruise missiles reached the base, leaving the runways intact. 

However, a U.S. official said all but one of the 59 missiles struck their targets, hitting multiple aircraft and air shelters, and destroying the fuel area. 

The official, who was not authorized to discuss initial reports, spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Trump penned a letter to Congress to defend his controversial choice to attack Syria.

Trump wrote in the April 8 letter: 'I acted in the vital national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.'

The president  praised his military on Saturday morning for its performance in launching nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air force base in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Damascus government.

'Congratulations to our great military men and women for representing the United States, and the world, so well in the Syria attack,' Trump tweeted on Saturday.

As he has done nearly every weekend since entering the Oval Office, Trump spent his Saturday playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to The Hill. 

The tweet was posted as the United States government and its domestic security agencies were on alert for possible retaliation for Thursday's bombardment.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are said to be mulling counterterrorism operations to neutralize 'specific threats' by potential US-based terrorists, ABC News is reporting on Saturday.

'Congratulations to our great military men and women for representing the United States, and the world, so well in the Syria attack,' President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday

Security sources say that the US could possibly face attacks by actors sympathetic either to the regime of President Bashar al Assad or those allied with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a Shi'ite organization based in Lebanon that has historically been allied with Assad.

It is also reliant on support from its patron and sponsor, Iran.

Hezbollah has been designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization.

In 2013, when the Obama administration was on the verge of launching attacks against Syria, the FBI bolstered its surveillance efforts and questioned Syrian nationals to 'deter any potential acts of violence,' according to ABC News.

Trump (seen Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida) praised his military on Saturday morning for its performance in launching nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air force base in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack

Security sources say that the US could possibly face attacks by actors sympathetic either to the Assad (right) regime or those allied with Hezbollah (whose members are seen in Beirut on the left in a 2008 file photo)

Local law enforcement agencies in large cities like New York will beef up security in the aftermath of Thursday night's strike. A police officer stands guard at Los Angeles International Airport in the above August 10, 2006, file photo

There is also a fear among US authorities that home-grown radicals could potentially carry out an attack in solidarity with a Muslim country.

Local law enforcement agencies in large cities like New York will beef up security in the aftermath of Thursday night's strike.

Washington is vowing to keep up the pressure on Syria after the intense nighttime wave of missile strikes from US ships, despite the prospect of escalating Russian ill will that could further inflame one of the world's most vexing conflicts.

Standing firm, the Trump administration on Friday signaled new sanctions would soon follow the missile attack, and the Pentagon was even probing whether Russia itself was involved in the chemical weapons assault that compelled Trump to action.

The attack against a Syrian air base was the first US assault against Assad's government.

Much of the international community rallied behind Trump's decision to fire the cruise missiles in reaction to this week's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of men, women and children in Syria.

Demonstrators gather outside the White House on Friday to protest the recent US missile strike in Syria

Protesters takes part in a demonstration against the US missile strikes into Syria in front of the Syrian embassy in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday

A protest in Jacksonville, Florida, drew between 100-200 people who denounced the US missile strike

The protest grew violent when counter-demonstrators clashed with anti-war activists

Six people were arrested - one of whom was hospitalized - when police intervened to try and break up the melee

But a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the strikes dealt 'a significant blow' to relations between Moscow and Washington.

A key test of whether the relationship can be salvaged comes next week when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson becomes the first Trump Cabinet member to visit Russia.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson also had planned to visit Russia this coming week, but decided Saturday to cancel the trip because of the fast moving events in Syria.

Johnson, who condemned Moscow's continued defense of Assad, said Tillerson will be able to give a 'clear and coordinated message to the Russians.'

At the United Nations on Friday, Russia's deputy ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, strongly criticized what he called the US 'flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression' whose 'consequences for regional and international security could be extremely serious.'

He called the Assad government a main force against terrorism and said it deserved the presumption of innocence in the chemical weapons attack.

Another ally of Assad, North Korea, joined Russia in condemning the US attack.

The communist state, which has provided arms to Assad, branded Trump's missile strike on a Syrian airbase 'an unforgivable act of aggression'.

Vindicating its recent missile testing program, the foreign ministry said: 'The reality of today proves our decision to strengthen our military power to stand against force with force was the right choice a million times over.'

Protesters make their opinions known outside Trump International Golf Club as the president's motorcade drove by in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday

Trump has been accused by critics of being a 'puppet' of Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though the Kremlin denounced the US for its missile strike on Syria

In his first three months in office, Trump has been largely unpopular, yet the missile strike on Thursday has earned him a rare spate of positive press coverage

On Friday, it was revealed that The White House National Security Council has drawn up North Korea options for President Trump that involve killing the country's erratic dictator Kim Jong-un and reinserting US nuclear weapons into South Korea.

The bold options were revealed by NBC News just as President Xi Jinpeng of China wrapped up a visit and meetings with Trump at to Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump wants China to use its leverage to get North Korea to back off its threatening behavior.

Turkey described the missile attack as a 'cosmetic intervention' unless it removes Assad from power, while the Syrian leader's strong ally Iran called Saturday for the formation of an international fact-finding committee to investigate the chemical weapons attack in northern Syrian.

An aerial view shows the damaged done by a chemical weapons attack alleged to have been committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Khan Shaykhun town of Idlib earlier this week. The US says its strike was in retaliation for the Idlib attack

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the world is waiting for the Russian government 'to act responsibly in Syria' and 'to reconsider its misplaced alliance with Bashar Assad.'

Speaking during an emergency Security Council session, Haley said the US was prepared to take further action in Syria but hoped it wouldn't be necessary. 

Six people were arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday evening after a protest against the US strikes against Syria turned violent, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Witnesses said that the crowd of protesters, which numbered approximately 200 people, clashed with counter-protesters.

When police tried to break up the melee, a number of officers were reportedly attacked.