Chemical watchdog to visit Syria

Will inspect site of suspected attack; U.S. ponders reply

BEIRUT — The international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it was sending a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected chemical gas attack took place over the weekend, following a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers that appeared to be aimed at averting punitive Western military action.

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would delay or prevent a U.S. strike in Syria. President Donald Trump has vowed to respond “forcefully” to Saturday’s attack on civilians in Douma, and he warned that Russia — or any other nation found to share responsibility — will “pay a price.”

In a statement, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding mission was “preparing to deploy to Syria shortly.”

Trump on Tuesday canceled plans to travel to South America later this week, choosing to stay in the United States to manage the response to the events in Syria.

The incident has sparked international outrage and ratcheted up tensions in the already volatile Mideast, raising the specter of possible imminent American retaliation amid Russia’s warnings against any such action, and denials that any chemical weapons attack took place.

Adding to the tensions, Iran, a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, threatened to respond to an airstrike on a Syrian military base on Monday that the Syrian government, Russia and Iran blamed on Israel.

Seven Iranians were among the estimated 14 people killed in the missile strike.

Syrian government forces were on high alert and taking precautionary measures Tuesday at military positions across the country amid fears of a U.S. strike in the aftermath of the attack near Damascus.

At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a U.s.-drafted resolution that would have condemned the suspected gas attack and established a new body to determine responsibility for Syrian chemical weapons attacks.

Chemical weapons attacks have killed hundreds of people since the start of Syria’s conflict, with the U.N. blaming four attacks on the Syrian government and a fifth on the Islamic State group.