Syrian government blamed for chlorine attack in Eastern Ghouta

The Syrian government was accused on Sunday by opposition activists of launching a deadly chlorine gas attack in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, Sky News reported, citing the pro-opposition Orient News which claimed a child had been killed in the reported attack by a regime aircraft on the town of al Shifuniyah.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the youngster's death and said 13 people had suffered breathing difficulties.

A U.S. medical organization said at least 16 patients in the hospital had symptoms indicating they were exposed to chemical compounds.

The Syrian American Medical Society said among those being treated with oxygen masks were six children and four women.

The Syrian regime, which has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons, has been accused of several chlorine gas attacks in recent weeks, including two in January in eastern Ghouta, on the edge of the capital Damascus.

The Trump administration recently accused Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's government of producing and using "new kinds of weapons" to deliver deadly chemicals, despite committing to abolish its chemical weapons program in 2013.

More