Syria Chemical Weapons: US Accuses Regime

The Syrian regime has carried out two chemical weapons attacks, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said.

Mr Kerry made the claim as he left a Congressional hearing, but did not give further details.

The White House said forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad probably used sarin gas against rebel fighters on a "small scale", but emphasised more assessments were needed.

Washington has said any use of chemical weapons would cross a "red line", triggering possible military action.

A White House official said if it was determined that line had been crossed, the US would consult with its allies on the next step - and "all options are on the table".

The official said the Assad regime is believed to have chemical weapons, and any use of them in the country would probably have been carried out by government forces.

Miguel E Rodriguez, assistant to the president and director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, revealed the claims in a letter to senators John McCain and Carl Levin.

"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin," he said.

The US says the Assad regime is likely to be behind any chemical weapon use

A senior defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press the letter was not an "automatic trigger" for policy decisions on the use of military force.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel first announced the assessment during a visit to Abu Dhabi, saying the "decision to reach this conclusion was made within the past 24 hours".

Britain's Foreign Office later said the information on chemical weapons use in Syria was convincing.

A spokesman said: "We have limited, but persuasive information from various sources showing chemical weapon use in Syria, including sarin.

"This is extremely concerning. Use of chemical weapons is a war crime. We have briefed our allies, partners and the UN on this information and we are working actively to get more and better information.

"Assad must cooperate with the international community and prove that his regime has not committed this horrific crime, allowing unrestricted access for the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate on the ground in Syria."

It was reported earlier this month that British military scientists had studied a soil sample brought back from an area close to Damascus and found it tested positive for chemical weapons, although the Government has not confirmed that.

Senator McCain told Sky News: "The problem is that the president has consistently said that's a red line, so the question is, will the president act in a way that I have advocated for a long time?

"(This involves) providing a safe zone for the Syrian resistance, provide proper weapons and have operational capability to secure these chemical weapon caches.

"All intelligence indicates that we're in a stalemate, and for at least the coming six months the stalemate continues, the massacre continues."

Sarin is a colourless and odourless liquid, and is an extremely potent nerve agent.

It is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN, and the production and stockpiling of sarin was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

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