Child victim of Syrian chemical attack
Child victim of Syrian chemical attackScreenshot

The bloody Syrian conflict continues to rage into its third year, and according to reports, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has once again carried out a chemical weapons attack.

Activists say over 100 people were killed in the attack, which occurred in the town of Talmenes in Idlib Province, located in the northwest of the country not far from Aleppo and the Turkish border. The claims were reported by EA WorldView on Monday.

The Islamic Front, an opposition forces coalition, has claimed that victims of the attack are suffering from the effects of inhaling chlorine gas, and has listed the names of 17 victims.

Videos show alleged victims of the chlorine attack, including young children, being treated at Jarjanaz Hospital.

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Another video shows the alleged remains of the barrel bomb that was loaded with the chlorine gas cylinder. In the video various dead animals, including chickens and other livestock, can be seen in the bombed out environs.

Series of chemical attacks

This latest incident comes shortly after a chemical weapons attack was reported in the city of Hama, Hama Province, just to the south of the most recent attack in Talmenes.

The US announced on Monday that it was opening an investigation into the claims of the attack, the same day that Assad announced new elections would be held on June 3. The announcement was panned as a "parody of democracy" by the European Union.

Just two weeks ago Assad was accused of carrying out another chemical weapons attack, this time on Kafr Zita, also in Hama Province. According to doctors and local journalists, at least three were killed and 200 wounded in that attack, which also involved chlorine gas cylinders in barrel bombs.

Damascus responded by blaming the Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front for the attack.

The latest string of chemical weapons attacks follows a massive attack by Assad's forces near Damascus last August, which killed hundreds of people and sparked an international outrage. A threatened military intervention by the US was only averted after the Syrian government signed up to a Russian-led proposal to decommission its chemical weapons stockpile.

That process is behind schedule, having been hampered by numerous delays. Officials last Thursday said Syria submitted a "more specific" list of its chemical weapons to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), after discrepancies on the list were reported by inspectors on the ground.