Some victims of a suspected chemical attack in Syria have symptoms consistent with exposure to a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

The UN health agency said the deadly attack in Idlib province Tuesday appeared to have involved chemical weapons, pointing to the "apparent lack of external injuries reported in cases showing a rapid onset of similar symptoms, including acute respiratory distress as the main cause of death."

"Some cases appear to show additional signs consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents," it said.

At least 72 civilians, among them 20 children, were killed in Tuesday's attack in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun, and dozens more were left gasping for air, convulsing, and foaming at the mouth, doctors said.

Washington and London have pointed the finger at President Bashar al-Assad's government for the attack, though the regime has denied using chemical weapons.

But WHO said there was good reason to suspect a chemical attack, noting the dozens of patients admitted to hospitals "suffering from breathing difficulties and suffocation."

"The images and reports coming from Idlib today leave me shocked, saddened and outraged," Peter Salama, head of WHO's health emergencies programme, said in a statement.

"These types of weapons are banned by international law because they represent an intolerable barbarism," he added.

WHO warned that the capacity of hospitals in the surrounding area was limited and that many facilities had been damaged in the fighting.

The UN agency pointed out that the Ma'ara Hospital had been out of service since Sunday due to infrastructure damage, and that the Al Rahma Hospital was hit shortly after it began taking in patients from the suspected chemical attack and was forced to temporarily shut its doors.

Emergency rooms in the area were overwhelmed, and many patients had been referred to southern Turkey, it said.

As soon as word got out about the suspected chemical attack, WHO said it had begun dispatching medicines, including Atrophine, an antidote for some types of chemical exposure, and steroids for symptomatic treatment, from a warehouse in Idlib.

"WHO is shipping additional medicines from Turkey and is ready to provide more life-saving supplies and ambulances as needed," it said, adding that its experts were providing around-the-clock guidance on diagnosis and treatment.

US expands northern Syria airfield for huge cargo plane
Washington (AFP) April 4, 2017 - The United States has expanded a runway at a northern Syria air base to accommodate the large C-17 military plane needed to help with logistics for the push to retake the IS stronghold of Raqa, a US defense official said Tuesday.

The huge military air freighter will play an essential role in supplying the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they mount an offensive to retake the city, the Islamic State group's last big stronghold in Syria.

The US military has in recent weeks sent hundreds of extra troops into Syria, including a Marine artillery contingent that is targeting Raqa.

The airstrip near the Kurdish town of Kobane was first used by a C-17 in December, the military's Central Command spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

"It's a very important logistical hub for the Raqa operation," Thomas told AFP, in public comments confirming a story that first appeared in the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.

The C-17 can carry "all of the small armored technical vehicles and small armored infantry vehicles that are in play and authorized to move into the region," he added.

Thomas said the improved air base, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Raqa, is not dissimilar from another base the US helped expand near Mosul in Iraq ahead of the fight for that city.

"Air lift and logistics are important for supporting our partner forces on the ground -- this is the kind of capability that is helping a lot," Thomas said.

The SDF launched its offensive for the city of Raqa in November, seizing around two-thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometers (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

The Pentagon is arming and training the SDF, but questions remain over how much support the United States should give the Kurdish component of the alliance, given concerns from Turkey, which views the Kurdish fighters as "terrorists."

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Communist rebels waging one of the world's longest-running insurgencies in the Philippines say they are willing to discuss a formal ceasefire proposed by the government in upcoming talks in the Netherlands. The insurgency began in 1968 in the poverty-stricken country, and has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives according to the military. The meeting, starting Sunday, will be the fourth rou ... read more

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