Syria dismisses report on Syrian military's involvement in alleged 2018 chemical attack

DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed as "lacking credibility" a recent report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) accusing the Syrian air force of being behind a 2018 alleged chemical attack near the capital Damascus.

In a statement, the ministry listed Syria's own accusations and condemnations in response to the OPCW report, pointing at the possible role of the United States in politicizing and fabricating reports about incidents in Syria.

"The report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no sane person or specialist can reach the misleading conclusions of its authors, who neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organization who are known for their experience and knowledge," the ministry said.

It urged the OPCW and the UN to assume their responsibilities to preserve the independence, credibility, and future of the OPCW, and not to allow the U.S.-led Western countries to dominate its work and role, or to politicize its tasks and use it as a tool to achieve their political goals.

On Friday, the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) issued a report, claiming that "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on 7 April 2018 in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic."

It said that during the attack, at least one helicopter of the Syrian "Tiger Forces" Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a civilian residential area in Douma, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied previous reports that indicated an involvement of the Syrian military in the alleged attack.