Syria: Obama Rules Out Sending In US Troops

US officials say Israel has launched an airstrike into Syria, apparently targeting a suspected weapons site.

They said the strike is believed to have hit a warehouse, but it does not appear that a chemical weapons site was targeted.

CNN said that the strike took place overnight on Thursday into Friday, just as Israel was flying many warplanes over Lebanon.

But the US does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes, the TV news station added.

Israel has targeted weapons in the past that it believes are being delivered to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, Israel implicitly admitted carrying out a January airstrike on a weapons convoy in Syria thought to be en route to Hezbollah.

Israeli Embassy spokesman Aaron Sagui said he could not comment on the report, but said Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime to terrorists.

There have been reports of a 'large-scale massacre' in Baida

The reports came hours after Barack Obama refused to rule out options in dealing with the crisis in Syria but said he did not foresee sending in US ground troops.

Speaking during a visit to Costa Rica, the President said: "As a general rule, I don't rule things out as commander-in-chief because circumstances change and you want to make sure that I always have the full power of the United States at our disposal to meet American national security interests.

"Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria, American boots on the ground in Syria, would not only be good for America but also would be good for Syria."

Mr Obama said there was evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, but that "we don't know when, where or how they were used".

But if "strong evidence" is found of such weapons being used by the regime of President Bashar al Assad, then "that is a game changer for us" because "there is a possibility that it lands in the hands of organisations like Hezbollah", Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama said if use of chemical weapons in Syria is confirmed, the US will present that evidence to the international community, because it concerns the entire world.

But he called for caution to avoid unintended consequences, saying: It's important for us to do it right."

Meanwhile, warnings of a new "large-scale massacre" in Syria have emerged following reports President Assad's troops bombarded Sunni areas near the city of Bania.

The opposition National Coalition accused the regime of "war crimes and genocide", citing witness reports of civilians being stabbed to death.

"The Coalition calls on the Arab League and the United Nations to act rapidly to save the civilians of Baida, Banias and other villages across Syria," it said in a statement.

"Several sources in the village say at least 50 people were killed in summary executions and shelling in Baida village,"Rami Abdel Rahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news agency.

Syria's official Sana news agency said troops killed "terrorists" and seized arms in an operation targeting rebels.

Regular forces were supported by pro-regime "shabiha" militiamen, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its information.

The Banias region is predominantly Alawite, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam and the sect of President Assad, while the insurgents battling to topple his regime are mainly Sunni Muslims.

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