European countries in contact with Damascus on Western fighters

English.news.cn (Xinhua) -- Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Tuesday that some European countries are in contact with Damascus regarding the growing number of Western radicals fighting alongside the rebels in the war-torn country.Declining to name the countries and the contact methods, al- Zoubi told pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV that these countries fear that the terrorism in Syria will have repercussion on their own region, given that many fighters in Syria are foreigners, including Europeans, who may return to their original countries even more radicalized.His remarks came after Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the UN, revealed on Tuesday that the Syrian troops had captured around 300 Saudi fighters.Earlier in the day, the local al-Watan daily said that the Syrian troops killed tens of Afghani fighters in the north.Yet, the Western countries fear the return of their nationals, who may have fought alongside the al-Qaida-linked groups.Some U.S. security officials recently warned that some American fighters in Syria may unleash terrorist attacks on the U.S. soil after they have come back."We know that American citizens as well as Canadian and European nationals have taken up arms in Syria, Yemen and in Somalia. The threat that these individuals could return home to carry out attacks is real and troubling," U.S. Senator Thomas Carper said recently.Some Western media reports placed the numbers of Western jihadists, who carry passports of theUnited States and Europe in Syria, at more than 1,000.

Syria says Israeli attack opens door to all eventualities

Source : Xinhua

DAMASCUS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government said Sunday that Israel's attack against positions of the Syrian army earlier in the day "opens the door widely before all eventualities."

The comments came in a statement read out by Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi after an emergency cabinet meeting.

While branding the attack targeting the Syrian army with rockets as "flagrant," the statement did not overtly speak of any possible responses to the attack.

"Syria is a state that does not waver and does not accept humiliation and will not accept its sovereignty to be infringed upon either at home or abroad," al-Zoubi said, warning that those who mess with Syria's sovereignty must carefully study their options and shoulder the responsibility.

"Syria is committed to the option of resistance and whoever thinks that Syria can be breakable is wrong and mistaken and must repeat his calculations," he added.

Russia Says Has Information Armed Groups Carried out Aleppo Chemical Attack

Source :

Russia said it had information proving that armed groups fighting against the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in an attack on a village in the northern city of Aleppo in which 25 civilians were killed.

"A case of the use of chemical weapons by the armed opposition was recorded early in the morning of March 19 in Aleppo province," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement shortly after the attack.

According to Syria’s official news agency SANA, at least 25 people were killed and many others injured after terrorists fired missiles containing "poisonous gases" into Aleppo’s Khan al-Assal village on Tuesday. Most of the casualties were women and children.

"We are very seriously concerned by the fact that weapons of mass destruction are falling into the hands of the rebels, which further worsens the situation in Syria and elevates the confrontation in the country to a new level," the Russian statement said.

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi described the terrorists' use of chemical weapons as the "first act" by the so-called opposition interim government.

He also said that Turkey and Qatar, which support militants fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, bore "legal, moral and political responsibility" for the chemical attack in the northern city of Aleppo. The attack comes hours after Syria's opposition National Coalition elected Ghassan Hitto, a former US-based IT executive, as prime minister for what it called an interim government.

Foreign-backed militants, who had threatened to use chemical weapons against the army government forces and Assad supporters a few months ago, have denied using chemical weapons and accused government forces of being behind the attack.