Syria's Assad says chemical attack '100 per cent fabrication'

April 13, 2017 19:23

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said a suspected chemical weapons attack was a "fabrication" to justify a US strike on his forces.

The embattled leader, whose country has been ravaged by six years of war, said his firepower had not been affected by the attack ordered by US President Donald Trump, but acknowledged further strikes were possible.

Assad insisted his forces had turned over all their chemical weapons stocks years ago and would never use the banned arms.

"Definitely, 100 per cent for us, it's fabrication," he said of the incident.

"Our impression is that the West, mainly the United States, is hand-in-glove with the terrorists. They fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack," added Assad, who has been in power for 17 years.

At least 87 people, including 31 children, were killed in the alleged attack, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Gukesh storms back, Pragg moves to joint third; Carlsen takes lead

World Championship challenger D Gukesh bounced back from a sedate start to defeat compatriot R Praggnanandhaa and Germany's Vincent Keymer before holding world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen after round six of the Superbet rapid and blitz...

Green Recaps Dharamsala Drama

'Another classic, vintage Virat innings and Rajat got his fourth 50. The game had everything... Another good day for RCB.'

Right training key to run-machine Kohli: Moody

With Kohli in stunning form, RCB have brought a late momentum to their campaign securing four successive wins after enduring six losses on the trot.

SIP inflows peak at Rs 20K crore as MFs conquer 6.4 million accounts

The mutual fund (MF) gross inflows through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route topped the Rs 20,000 crore mark for the first time in a calendar month as investors opened a record 6.4 million SIP accounts despite a spike in market...

Less Than 5% Of Candidates From Congress

The Congress is contesting 328 seats in the ongoing elections -- the lowest since Independence.