PRESS RELEASE
Syrian Airstrike in Idlib Targeted Chemical Arms Lab, Russian Defense Ministry Confirms
April 5, 2017 (EIRNS)—While the world seems to be convinced that the Syrians are responsible for an alleged gas attack on the eastern outskirts of Khan Sheikhun on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said the Syrians attacked an ISIS munitions depot where ISIS was making chemical weapons.
"According to Russian airspace monitoring systems, yesterday between 11:30 and 12:30 local time the Syrian aviation carried out an airstrike on the eastern outskirts of Khan Sheikhun, targeting a major ammunition storage facility of terrorists and a cluster of military hardware. The territory of this storage facility housed workshops to produce projectiles stuffed with toxic agents,"
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said as quoted in TASS.
"From this major arsenal, chemical-laden weapons were delivered by militants to Iraq. Their use by terrorists was confirmed on numerous occasions by international organizations and official authorities of the country,"
he said.
"Video footage from social networks shows that those affected in Khan Sheikhun demonstrate the same symptoms of poisoning as the victims of the Aleppo attack had last fall,"
he confirmed.
Konashenkov continued that Russia has handed over all relevant information to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which "still studies them." "We assure that this information is completely unbiased and true," he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry has rejected the information put out by the so-called Syrian Human Rights Observatory claiming Russian aircraft were involved in the attack, calling its report "fake," and saying that none of its planes had carried out airstrikes on Khan Sheikhun and its outskirts.
Syria’s Defense Ministry blamed the chemical attack on terrorists and their supporters and rejected any use of toxic agents in Khan Sheikhun.
