HORROR IN SYRIA: ALLEGED CHECMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK FOLLOWED BY STRIKE ON HOSPITAL
John Hayward
A massive chemical weapons attack hit an area of the northern Idlib province in Syria on Tuesday, followed by a bombing run on hospitals where victims were undergoing treatment.
According to Fox News and the Associated Press, Syrian medical relief organization UOSSM reported least 100 people were killed and 400 more injured. Some other estimates put the death toll as low as 57. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that at least 11 children were among the dead.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is reportedly investigating the incident.
The UK Independent reports that an AFP journalist saw rubble crashing down on the medical staff treating patients at one hospital, while as-yet-unverified footage showed an explosion striking a hospital while a reporter was interviewing doctors on-camera.
“The Syrian Civil Defence rescue group said two of its centres were targeted by air strikes – one in Khan Sheikhoun and one in nearby Habit. The group said none of its volunteers were injured but the damage put the facilities out of service,” the Independent writes. Khan Sheikhoun is about 30 miles south of the city of Idlib.
The BBC interviewed a reporter and ambulance driver who observed people choking in the streets after the chemical weapon strikes. The relief service this ambulance driver works for published photographs depicting “what appeared to be at least seven dead children in the back of a pick-up truck,” with no sign of traumatic injuries on their bodies.
One AFP journalist reported seeing “a young girl, a woman and two elderly people dead at a hospital, all with foam still visible around their mouths.” The facility where this gruesome tableau was observed was subsequently hit by a rocket strike, burying doctors under rubble.
A Syrian medical activist reported at least 18 “critical cases” of unconscious people bleeding from the nose and mouth to the Associated Press. Another eyewitness, a photographer for the Idlib Media Center, said he found “entire families inside their homes, lying on the floor, eyes wide open and unable to move.” He reported feeling a burning sensation after he touched their clothing.
The BBC notes these symptoms are consistent with the use of sarin gas, which causes death by asphyxiation within a matter of minutes, and is very difficult to detect. The Syrian government has allegedly used sarin gas on previous occasions. The regime of dictator Bashar Assad denied using the gas and blamed rebel fighters for deploying it.
CBS News reports the Syrian and Russian governments “flatly denied any responsibility” for the attack. The Russian defense Ministry denied conducting any airstrikes on the Khan Sheikhoun area, while Syrian officials “repeated blanket denials of ever having used chemical weapons,” and in fact denied targeting anyone except “terrorists” at all.
CBS posted Tweets from a man identifying himself as a British-trained physician performing volunteer work in northern Syria, claiming he found evidence of a Sarin gas attack:
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