syria chlorine attack

Syria: Four Dead In Suspected Chlorine Gas Attack in Aleppo

Medics save clothes of victims to be tested as they try to prove chemical weapons are being used.

At least four people have died after a suspected chlorine gas attack on the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

The gas is believed to have been dropped alongside barrel bombs on the Zubdiya neighbourhood, which is in the rebel-held part of the city.

Hamza Khatib, manager of Al Quds hospital, told Reuters that he had recorded four deaths and 55 injuries

Mr Khatib said he was saving pieces of patients' clothing and pieces of the bombs as evidence.

A Syrian rescue worker said a mother and her two children were among the dead.

A video was posted online by the Aleppo Media Centre, an opposition news portal, which showed a child and adults wearing breathing apparatus.

Two men reported a strong smell of gas and said they saw barrel bombs before people began to suffer breathing and eye problems.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that barrel bombs had struck the neighbourhood, but made no mention of chlorine gas.

Both sides deny using chemical weapons but United Nations investigators say that sarin gas was used in Eastern Ghouta three years ago.

This killed an estimated 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.

In late 2015, mustard gas was used in the conflict, confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

It is not clear in either case which side was to blame.

Aleppo, Syria's most populous city before the war, is the subject of a bitter fight between rebel forces and those under the command of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Last week, rebels broke through a month-long government siege in the city's east, where an estimated 250,000 are living.

Fierce fighting continues, however, meaning a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established.

A three-hour daily ceasefire announced by Russia to allow humanitarian and aid deliveries, was due to come into force on Thursday morning, although activists say fighting has persisted.

United Nations emergency relief co-ordinator Stephen O'Brien had said he was willing to consider the Russian plan, but warned the pause needed to last at least 48 hours because the main supply route into the city, cut off by government forces last month, is so damaged only smaller trucks can be used.

He said: "When we're offered three hours then you have to ask what could be achieved in that three hours - is it to meet the need, or would it only just meet a very small part of the need?

"To meet that capacity of need you need two (road) lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks in."