From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 9, 2024
US, Mideast allies working to destroy chemical weapons that belonged to Assad regime — senior Biden official
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The US is working with Mideast allies to secure and destroy chemical weapons that belonged to the recently collapsed Assad regime in Syria, a senior Biden administration official tells reporters.
“We are taking very prudent measures about this [and] doing everything we can to ensure that those materials are not available to anyone and are cared for… We want to make sure that chlorine or things that are far worse are destroyed or secured. There are several efforts in this regard with partners in the region,” the senior US official says in a briefing.
The official doesn’t specify, which countries are involved in the effort, but Israel has reportedly been targeting chemical weapon facilities in Syria over the past several days.
