Media: US has proof that chemical weapons were used in Douma
American intelligence officials have evidence of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian city of Douma, reported NBC News, citing sources in the intelligence community.
According to the news network, intelligence officials received blood and urine samples of the victims.
The samples tested positive for chemical warfare agents - chlorine gas and an unnamed nerve agent. The samples were collected by U.S. intelligence and allied intelligence agencies through hospitals at the scene.
Sources said they were “confident” of the intelligence, but not 100%.
The U.S. did not identify the nerve gas as sarin, but stressed that the regime of Bashar Assad used a mixture of chlorine and sarin several times during the war in Syria.
According to NBC News, the U.S. is now confident that the Syrian government was behind the attack in Douma.
It was reported that over 500 people suffered from the chemical attack in Syria. According to the testimony of a Syrian aid group, at least 60 people were killed and more than a thousand injured on Saturday in the alleged chemical attack on the city of Douma. Doctors and witnesses noted that the victims had symptoms of poisoning, perhaps from a nerve agent, and reported the smell of chlorine gas.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Western allies are discussing possible military actions against Syrian President Bashar Assad. His regime is suspected of the chemical attack.
Trump warned Russia to prepare for missile strikes in Syria, but later he said that he did not promise to strike Syria right away.