U.S. cites ‘indications’ toxic chemical was used in Syria attack
The State Department said Monday that it is investigating allegations that the Syrian government used a toxic chemical in an attack in a rebel-controlled area of the country, raising questions about whether President Bashar al-Assad is violating an international agreement to destroy his most lethal chemical stockpiles.
“We have indications of the use of a toxic industrial chemical, probably chlorine, in Syria this month,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. She said the toxin was used in the rebel-held village of Kafr Zeita, in Hama province, about 125 miles north of Damascus.
Psaki declined to detail any evidence that might substantiate the allegations or to say whether any toxin that might have been used would be considered a chemical weapon. Chlorine gas can be lethal and was used as a crude chemical weapon during World War I.
Both the Assad government and rebels reported a poison gas attack in Kafr Zeita on April 11; each side blamed the other. The United Nations has not determined what happened.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-cites-indications-toxic-chemical-was-used-in-syria-attack/2014/04/21/78a8592c-c987-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html