Chemical weapons watchdog says Sarin gas used in April Syria attack

Brussels: A chemical weapons watchdog confirmed on Friday that sarin gas had been used in the April attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun that left over 100 people dead.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) published a report based on evidence collected during a fact-finding mission that confirmed the use of the deadly gas in the April 4 attack, the Guardian reported.

The attack on the town in the country`s Idlib province was the most deadly in Syria`s civil war in more than three years. It prompted a US missile strike on a Syrian airbase which, Washington said, was used to launch the gas attack.

The report also found that hexamine -- a known component of the Syrian regime`s stockpiles -- was contained in samples taken from the scene and from the blood and urine of victims.

The OPCW said its mandate was solely to determine whether chemical weapons were used in the attack which killed more than 100 people. 

Russia`s Foreign Ministry called the OPCW report "biased" and based on "doubtful evidence".

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had "absolutely no doubt the finger points at the Assad regime", the daily reported.

"The exact responsibility for dropping the sarin will now go to a joint investigative mechanism to be confirmed," he said.

Ahmet Üzümcü, the Director General of the OPCW, said the atrocity wholly contradicted the norms enshrined in the chemical weapons convention. 

"The perpetrators of this horrific attack must be held accountable for their crimes," he said.

An OPCW investigating team was deployed within 24 hours of the attack on April 4, though for security reasons they could not visit its site in Khan Sheikhoun, in the northern Idlib region.

"A rigorous methodology was employed for conducting an investigation of alleged use of chemical weapons that took into account corroboration between interviewee testimonies, open-source research, documents, and other records," an OPCW statement said.

The watchdog`s executive council must now analyse the report, which has been sent to the United Nations Security Council.

The joint UN and OPCW investigating mechanism was established after a Security Council resolution was passed in August 2015 to identify the individuals, entities, groups and governments that use, organise or promote the use of chemical weapons in Syria.