DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media says the government has reached an agreement with the United Nations to allow a U.N. team of experts to visit the site of last week's alleged chemical weapons attack.
State TV also said in a statement Sunday that the two sides are working to set the date and time of the visit to the agreed upon locations outside Damascus purportedly hit by chemical agents on Aug. 22.
The purported chemical attack that activists say killed hundreds of civilians in rebel-held areas around Damascus took place on Wednesday, Aug. 21
The discrepancy in the dates could not be immediately reconciled.
Meanwhile, a senior administration official told the Associated Press there is "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in an incident that killed at least a hundred people last week.
The official says Sunday that the U.S. intelligence community based its assessment given to the White House on "the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, and witness accounts." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.
The official says the White House believes the Syrian government is barring a U.N. investigative team immediate access to the site of a reported Aug. 21 chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs in order to give the evidence of the attack time to degrade.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
State TV also said in a statement Sunday that the two sides are working to set the date and time of the visit to the agreed upon locations outside Damascus purportedly hit by chemical agents on Aug. 22.
The purported chemical attack that activists say killed hundreds of civilians in rebel-held areas around Damascus took place on Wednesday, Aug. 21
The discrepancy in the dates could not be immediately reconciled.
Meanwhile, a senior administration official told the Associated Press there is "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in an incident that killed at least a hundred people last week.
The official says Sunday that the U.S. intelligence community based its assessment given to the White House on "the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, and witness accounts." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.
The official says the White House believes the Syrian government is barring a U.N. investigative team immediate access to the site of a reported Aug. 21 chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs in order to give the evidence of the attack time to degrade.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.