Suspected gas attack in Syria causes deaths, injuries - Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Rescue workers, staff at Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo suspect that dozens of civilian injuries and several deaths are direct result of chlorine gas attack on the city • Hospital says it is preserving patients' clothing and bomb fragments as evidence.

A civilian breathes through an oxygen mask at Al-Quds hospital, after an alleged gas attack in the Syrian city of Aleppo | Photo credit: Reuters

At least four people died and many suffered breathing difficulties as a result of a suspected chlorine gas attack on a neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo, medical officials in the city said Wednesday. A local rescue organization said the gas was dropped on the area alongside barrel bombs.

Hamza Khatib, manager of Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo, told Reuters the hospital had recorded four deaths and 55 injuries from gas poisoning. Seven people were still receiving treatment, he said.

Khatib said he was preserving pieces of patients' clothing and fragments from the barrel bombs as evidence for analysis.

The Syria Civil Defense, a Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory, told Reuters it had recorded three deaths and 22 injuries after a barrel containing a gas suspected of being chlorine fell on the Zubdiya neighborhood. The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, said it could not independently verify the nature of the gas.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said helicopters dropped explosive barrels on the neighborhoods of Seif al Dawla and Zubdiya, leading to the death of a woman and her child.

The northern city of Aleppo is split into rebel- and government-held districts. Capturing the whole city would be a major prize for Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's five-year-old conflict.

A fierce battle for control of the city broke out on Friday, when rebels staged a major assault to break through a month-long government siege of the city's rebel-held east, where about 250,000 people are thought to be living.

Fighters managed to pierce the ring of government-controlled territory, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established.

There have been unconfirmed reports among activists and residents of chlorine gas falling on rebel-held east Aleppo since the insurgent offensive.

Government and opposition forces have both denied using chemical weapons during Syria's conflict. Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks. The government and Russia have accused rebels of using poison gas.

Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/today.php

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