U.S. examining evidence from suspected chemical attack in Syria

FAN Editor

U.S. intelligence continues to report that symptoms related to last weekend’s suspected chemical attack in Syria are consistent with mostly chlorine gas, according to a U.S. government source. CBS News’ national security correspondent David Martin reports that evidence includes blood and urine samples provided by hospitals and medical workers, according to the source.

U.S. intelligence reports that some victims of the attack have exhibited symptoms that are more consistent with exposure to a nerve agent, and that 42 people were killed and more than 500 injured in the attack, the source said.

Syrian opposition activists and medics have said that the suspected gas attack last week killed dozens of people in Douma, a town outside Syria’s capital that was then controlled by Syrian rebels. Western powers are convinced a chemical attack was instigated by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Syria and Russia have disputed such reports.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Thursday a special fact-finding mission is on its way to Syria and will start investigating the suspected chemical attack there as of Saturday. The OPCW team will be seeking to find out if and what kind of chemicals were used in the attack, the organization — based in the Netherlands — said in a statement.

President Trump warned Russia on Wednesday to “get ready” for a missile attack on its ally Syria, but tweeted Thursday that it may come “very soon or not so soon at all!” Meanwhile, Defense Secretary James Mattis told Congress he couldn’t talk about military plans for retaliation against Syria because an attack “is not yet in the offing.” 

“I believe there was a chemical attack. We’re looking for the actual evidence,” Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing on Thursday.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador said the top priority now is to avert war in Syria and doesn’t rule out the possibility of a U.S.-Russian conflict. Vassily Nebenzia said Russia is very concerned with “the dangerous escalation” of the situation and “aggressive policies” and preparations that some governments are making, a clear reference to the Trump administration and its allies. 

“We hope that there will be no point of no return — that the U.S. and their allies will refrain from military action against a sovereign state,” he said.

Nebenzia told reporters after a closed emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that “the danger of escalation is higher than simply Syria, because our military are there on the invitation of the Syrian government.”

The Russian military said Thursday the Syrian government is now in full control of Douma, the site of suspected chemical attack, and that the situation there is “normalizing.” 

More than 13,500 Syrian rebel fighters and their families have left the town this month under a so-called evacuation deal between rebels and the Russian military, a top ally of the Syrian government. The Russian Defense Ministry said 1,500 left the town in the past 24 hours.

A child is treated in a hospital in Douma, eastern Ghouta in Syria, after what a Syria medical relief group claims was a suspected chemical attack

A child is treated in a hospital in Douma, eastern Ghouta in Syria, after what a Syria medical relief group claims was a suspected chemical attack April, 7, 2018. Pcture taken April 7, 2018. White Helmets/Handout via

White Helmets/HANDOUT/REUTERS

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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