Collins says US may need to consider military strike after Syrian gas attack

6 years ago

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday that the U.S. may need to consider a military strike against the Syrian government in response to a gas attack in a rebel-held town near Damascus that left at least 42 people dead, a move the White House is not ruling out.

“This attack with chemical weapons, which are banned by international conventions, is absolutely horrific,” Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The alleged gas attack hit the city of Douma late Saturday, Syrian opposition forces and rescue workers told the Associated Press, as Syrian government forces resumed an offensive after talks collapsed with the Army of Islam group.

The Syrian American Medical Society and Syrian Civil Defense said in a joint statement Sunday that more than 500 people, the majority of whom were women and children, were brought to local hospitals with symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, burning eyes and emitting a chlorine-like odor, symptoms the group allege indicate exposure to toxic chemicals.

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