In brief: Syrian military accused of poison gas attack
BEIRUT – Syrian activists and the Western-backed opposition accused the government Tuesday of carrying out a chlorine gas attack against a rebel-held town that killed at least six people and left dozens, including children, choking and gasping for breath.
The purported use of poison gas on the town of Sarmin in northwestern Idlib province is the first alleged chemical attack since the U.N. Security Council approved a U.S.-drafted resolution this month that condemns the use of toxic chemicals such as chlorine in Syria. That measure also threatens military action in case of further violations.
But any such action would require the consent of the Security Council, which remains deeply divided over Syria’s civil war. The U.S. and its allies support the opposition, while Russia backs Syrian President Bashar Assad – and Moscow has used its veto on several occasions to shield its ally.
The attack on Sarmin, located some 5 miles east of Idlib city, took place late Monday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist collective. The two activist groups said that six people were killed and dozens more suffered from severe breathing difficulties.
A Syrian military official in Damascus denied any government role in the attack and blamed it on rebels. “The army did not and will never use any internationally prohibited weapon,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said government helicopters dropped four “barrel bombs,” two of which contained chlorine gas. It said about 70 people suffered breathing problems.
Syria says it shot down U.S. drone
DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian state media said the country’s air defenses shot down a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft Tuesday in a northwestern province along the Mediterranean coast.
A U.S. official said a U.S. Predator drone went down in Syria, but it’s not clear whether it was shot down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pentagon had not yet announced the loss, said U.S. officials were trying to determine why operators of the drone lost control of it.
Syria’s SANA state news agency said the aircraft was downed north of the coastal city of Latakia. It provided no further details. State television broadcast footage of what it said was the wreckage, including a wheel and electronic parts. Soldiers in camouflage could be seen loading some of the debris into the back of a truck.
If confirmed, it would be the first American aircraft to go down over Syria since the U.S. expanded its aerial campaign against the Islamic State extremist group to the country in September.
A Jordanian jet crashed near the northern Syrian city of Raqqa in December. The Islamic State group captured the pilot and later burned him alive.
Afghanistan says Islamic State is present
KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan government said Tuesday that forces belonging to the Islamic State militant organization have taken root in the country, the first official acknowledgment that the group based in Iraq and Syria had reached so far to the east.
Officials said the Islamic State presence includes a relatively small number of Afghan and foreign fighters who have not carried out independent operations but were using Afghanistan as a transit point en route to other battlefields.