Autopsies show chemical weapons used in Idlib, says Turkey

Published April 6th, 2017 - 11:00 GMT
An injured Syrian is taken from an ambulance in Hatay province by Turkish officials wearing protective clothing, 4 April 2017. (AFP/Dogan News Agency)
An injured Syrian is taken from an ambulance in Hatay province by Turkish officials wearing protective clothing, 4 April 2017. (AFP/Dogan News Agency)

Autopsies done in Turkey of the victims of Tuesday’s deadly attack on civilians in Idlib, Syria show that chemical weapons were used, Turkey’s justice minister said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in the central Anatolian province of Kirikkale, Bekir Bozdag said tests were conducted on three bodies taken to Turkey from Idlib in northwestern Syria.

He noted that the autopsies were done with representatives of the World Health Organization and the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

On Tuesday, more than 100 civilians were killed and 500 others, mostly children, were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by Assad regime warplanes, according to the Syrian interim government's health minister, Firas Jundi.

The attack attracted widespread international condemnation and calls for the Assad regime to be held accountable.

Reporting by Zekeriya Karadavut and Fatih Gokmen; Writing by Sorwar Alam

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