Russia knew of chemical attack?

SYRIA /

WASHINGTON — The United States has concluded Russia knew in advance of Syria’s chemical weapons attack last week, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The official said a drone operated by Russians was flying over a hospital as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment. Hours after the drone left, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what American officials believe was an attempt to cover up the usage of chemical weapons.

The senior official said the

U.S. has no proof of Russian involvement in the actual chemical attack in northern Syria. But the official said the presence of the surveillance drone over the hospital couldn’t have been a coincidence, and that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment.

The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and demanded anonymity, didn’t give precise timing for when the drone was in the area, where more than 80 people were killed.

Another U.S. official cautioned that no final American determination has been made that Russia knew ahead of time that chemical weapons would be used. That official wasn’t authorized to speak either and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Although Russia has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, and the countries have coordinated military attacks together, Washington has never previously accused Moscow of complicity in any attack that

involved the gassing of innocent civilians. The former Cold War foes even worked together in 2013 to remove and destroy more than 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons and agents.

Until Monday, U.S. officials had said they weren’t sure whether Russia or Syria operated the drone. The official said the U.S. is now convinced Russia controlled it. The official said it isn’t clear who was flying the jet that bombed the hospital, because the Syrians also fly Russian-made aircraft.

U.S. officials previously had said Russians routinely work with Syrians at the Shayrat air base where the chemical attack is supposed to have originated.

Last Thursday, the United States fired 59 Tomahawk missiles on the governmentcontrolled base.

On Monday, Col. John J. Thomas, a U.S. military spokesman, said the U.S. has taken extra defensive precautions in Syria in case of possible retaliation against American forces.

Thomas told reporters at the Pentagon that the increased emphasis on defensive measures to protect U.S. troops on the ground led to a slight and temporary decline in

offensive U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria. Thomas said the U.S. intends to return to full offensive air operations against IS as soon as possible.

The Trump administration is struggling to explain a hazy Syria strategy, but British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, after a meeting in Italy with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday, floated the possibility of new sanctions on both the Syrian and Russian militaries, an idea the U.S. has only briefly mentioned.

In an unusual announcement for a foreign government, Johnson also said the U.S. could launch more cruise missiles into Syria like the ones President Donald Trump ordered last week in reaction to Assad’s use of chemical weapons.

“Crucially, they could do so again,” Johnson said.

Tillerson himself raised fresh expectations for aggressive U.S. action — and not only in Syria — as he visited Sant’Anna di Stazzema, a Tuscan village where the Nazis massacred more than 500 civilians during World War II. As he laid a wreath, he alluded to the Syria chemical attack.

“We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any

and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world,” Tillerson said.

Though such comments hint at a more activist U.S. foreign policy focused on preventing humanitarian atrocities, Trump has consistently suggested he prefers the opposite approach. His young administration has generally downplayed human rights concerns while promoting an “America First” strategy de-emphasizing the concerns of foreign nations.

Tillerson plans to attend a meeting today of the “likemindeds” — countries that share a similar approach to resolving Syria’s protracted civil war. The session on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Lucca, Italy, is to include Middle East countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates that share a U.S. interest in resolving the conflict and resisting Iran’s influence in Syria.

Tonight, Tillerson will fly to Moscow, the first official visit by a Trump Cabinet official to Russia. The U.S. has said its Syria strategy centers on persuading President Vladimir Putin to stop supporting Assad.