Chemical weapons attack suspected in Syria

CAIRO — Aid organizations reported late Saturday a suspected chemical weapons attack in the last remaining rebel stronghold in the Eastern Ghouta area, near the Syrian capital Damascus.

The voluntary rescue group, White Helmets, wrote on Twitter that a helicopter dropped a barrel bomb filled with chemicals on the city of Douma, allegedly killing at least 40 people and injuring hundreds.

“Entire families in shelters gassed to death in #Douma #EastGhouta hiding in their cellars, suffocated from the poisonous gas bringing the initial death toll to more than 40,” the organization said on Twitter.

The tweet was accompanied by gruesome images of apparent victims of the alleged attack.

The aid organization UOSSM also reported on a potential chemical weapons attack that it claimed had killed 25 people and injured more than 500.

The reports have not been independently verified.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian news agency SANA rejected the reports.

“Some media outlets, known for their support to the terrorists, claimed that the army used chemical weapons in the city of Douma during its military operations in response to the attacks carried out by the terrorist organization on several Damascus neighbourhoods and its surroundings,” SANA said.

Syrian government forces and rebels intensified their attacks on Damascus and its outskirts on Saturday as the government pressed on with a military offensive to retake the last opposition pocket near the capital.

At least another eight civilians were killed on Saturday in intense air bombardment by the government on Douma, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported.