Syria says rebels may obtain chemical weapons from Turkey: minister

Source : Xinhua

DAMASCUS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Information Minister Omran al- Zoubi said that the chemical weapons used by rebels in a northern Syrian town were probably from Turkey, the state-run SANA news agency reported Saturday.

The remarks were made during al-Zoubi's visit to Moscow. He said the missile which targeted the northern town of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province was launched from a rebel-held place, which was not far from the Turkish borders.

He added the Syrian government took the initiative to request a probe into the incident, reiterating Syria's support for letting Russian experts investigate the use of chemical weapons in the battered town.

Commenting on the fresh western allegations about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army in other areas, the minister said "the U.S.- British and western allegations in general on that issue do not have any credibility."

He held the western sides direct responsibility for what happened in Khan al-Assal.

The White House said Thursday that the "U.S. intelligence community assesses with some degree of varying confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin."

Syria brushed aside the accusations and slammed Washington as trying to use the chemical issue to threat a repetition of the Iraqi scenario in 2003