Traces of chemical weapons at Syrian site

Officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons informed the US government several months ago that Syrian President Bashar Assad still likely possessed numerous chemical weapons and hazardous agents, including sarin gas, according to a report in Bloomberg Wednesday.

Inspectors from the monitor group found traces of two banned chemical weapons during a search through the Syrian government’s Scientific Studies and Research Center in the district of Barzeh near Damascus earlier this year, officials from the Obama administration told Bloomberg.

Rebels linked to Islamic extremists have been launching attacks on the Syrian government controlled-area around the facility in recent weeks, raising fears that the chemical weapons may fall into the hands of jihadists.

A report by Reuters on May 8 stated that OPCW inspectors also found traces of sarin and VX nerve agent at the site in separate inspections in December and January.

US President Barack Obama is said to have not yet decided how to respond to the report by the weapons monitor group.