'There was panic. It was the strike we had all been anticipating'

This wasn't the usual sound of light artillery shelling against remaining rebel enclaves in Damascus which you often hear. This was different.

I awoke at around 4.30am to a series of deafening thuds which shook the ground in Qudsaya, a normally quiet suburb in west Damascus.

From the outset it was clear that this was a US-led strike against Syria; quite unlike anything we had previously heard or seen. There was initial surprise and panic. As people heard the blasts we knew these were the missile strikes we had all been anticipating.

A volley of more than 13 rockets went off in the distance, with the fierce sound of anti-aircraft fire from the air defence base nearby. The crackle of Shilka anti-aircraft fire was followed by another wave of rockets. The initial wave of missiles which lit up the pitch black Damascus skyline had landed on the military research facility of Barzeh, east of the capital. Mezzeh military airport in the western centre was also hit.

Anxious family members from across Damascus called for news. I told them they were just cruise missiles and urged them to stay inside and ride it out. After a delay of several minutes another batch of missiles and bombs landed nearby, this time too close for comfort. I edged across the balcony from where I could see Qasioun mountain through the red mist of burning explosives hanging in the air.

We were only 30 minutes into an almost hour-long bombardment. A huge explosion forced me and three members of my family back into the house. The balcony wasn't safe. A stone's throw away is Jamraya and my first thought was that this major research facility had been hit.

I heard more than 40 different missiles in the barrage.

The attacks were clearly not symbolic, but limited to three main sites in Damascus, one in Hama, and some in Homs. For the first time in the war, the capital and bedrock of the Assad Government had been hit.

• Danny Makki is a British-Syrian journalist.