Trump says to meet Syria advisors, decision 'fairly soon'

US President Donald Trump said he would meet his top advisors on Syria later today, promising a decision on possible military action "fairly soon."

"We're having a meeting today on Syria," Trump told a gathering of lawmakers and state governors at the White House. "We'll see what happens."

Amid a military build-up in the eastern Mediterranean, spluttering diplomatic efforts at the United Nations and chemical weapons experts deploying on the ground, Trump had appeared to equivocate about a potential strike earlier today.