Israel Matzav

Syrian troops claim they didn't know they were shooting chem weapons

You don't think they're trying to avoid being charged with war crimes or something, do you? Syrian troops are claiming that they didn't know that the missiles they shot last Wednesday had chemical weapons.

Amid universal acceptance that a chemical nerve agent has been used but disagreement over who used it, there were indications from Damascus that some of the army officers involved had tried to distance themselves from what happened, and insisted they were not told the rockets they were firing were loaded with toxins.

"We have heard from people close to the regime that the chemical missiles were handed out a few hours before the attacks," said a source from a well-connected family, who has contacts with both the opposition and regime loyalists.

"They didn't come from the ministry of defence but from air force intelligence, under orders from Hafez Maklouf . The army officers are saying they did not know there were chemical weapons. Even some of the people transporting them are saying they had no idea what was in the rockets - they thought they were conventional explosives."

Hafez Maklouf, Mr Al Assad's cousin, commands Syria's air force intelligence, the most feared of all its secret police branches.

Read the whole thing. 

Labels: Bashar al-Assad, chemical weapons, Syria, Syrian army

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:27 AM