Assad claims US ‘fabricated’ Idlib chemical weapons attack

DAMASCUS, Syria (Kurdistan24) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday claimed the chemical weapons attack on Khan Shaykun in Syria were “fabricated.”

The Syrian leader stated his army had handed over all its chemical weapons “a few years ago,” according to an interview with AFP.

Assad argued the US had “fabricated” the chemical assault to justify their military intervention in Syria.

On April 6, US President Donald Trump ordered cruise missile strikes to target the Shayrat airbase in Syria where the chemical attacks were allegedly fired.

The gas attacks in the southern Idlib Province left over 80 people dead and scores more injured.

“Definitely, 100 [percent] for us, it’s fabrication,” Assad told AFP referring to the chemical attacks.

“Our impression is that the West, mainly the United States, is hand-in-glove with the terrorists,” he continued.

“They fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack,” Assad claimed.

In the aftermath of the chemical bombing, Russia and the US argued regarding the group responsible for the deadly raid.

Russia blamed rebel fighters for the fatal incident, claiming a routine Syrian regime strike hit a rebel arms depot containing “toxic substances.”

“It’s necessary to demand that the rebels offer full access to study the area and collect necessary information,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had said.

Meanwhile, President Trump pointed to Assad’s regime as perpetrators of the crime, calling the assault “reprehensible.”

However, Assad insisted his army were not to blame and claimed it was “not clear” if the chemical attack even happened.

“You have a lot of fake videos now,” he said. “There was no order to make any attack; we don’t have any chemical weapons.”