Israel says Syria's Assad still has chemical weapons

Israel says Syria’s Assad still has chemical weapons

Syrian President Bashar Assad says the Syrian government has formally approached the United Nations, asking it to send in the experts to investigate the April 4 suspected chemical attack. | SANA via AP

JERUSALEM — Senior Israeli defense officials say Syria’s Assad is still believed to possess up to 3 tons of chemical weapons.

The officials delivered the assessment on Wednesday, weeks after a chemical attack in Syria killed at least 90 people. Israel, along with much of the international community, believes that Assad’s forces carried out the attack.

A senior military official says Israeli military intelligence estimates that Assad has “between 1 and 3 tons” of chemical weapons.

He spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules. The assessment was confirmed by two other defense officials.

Assad has denied the allegations that he was behind the April 4 attack. Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons arsenal in 2013.

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