Watchdog blames Syria’s air force for deadly chlorine attack

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An investigation by the global chemical weapons watchdog established there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Syria’s air force dropped two cylinders containing chlorine gas on the city of Douma in April 2018, killing 43 people. A report published Friday by a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons offered the latest confirmation that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons during his country’s grinding civil war. Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 under pressure from the international community after being blamed for another deadly chemical weapon attack. It doesn’t recognize the investigation team’s authority and has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.