Compelling new details emerged from Paris as the French government presented a declassified report from its DGSE overseas intelligence service, the equivalent of MI6.
Tragic: A young victim of the chemical attack is treated
It came as Prime Minister Theresa May said all evidence pointed to Assad being behind the attack in Douma because:
- Two Mi-8 'Hip' helicopters from his regime were spotted above the city in the hours before the attack – none of the opposition forces has a helicopter.
- A barrel bomb was used to deliver the chemicals – a weapon that the rebels do not use.
- A yellow compressed-gas canister of a type known to have been used before by the Assad regime was photographed on the roof of a building where a large number of the dead were found.
- Syria has failed to fulfil an agreement to dismantle its chemical weapons store under the supervision of international agencies, and Mrs May claimed it still had undeclared stocks.
The French dossier claimed the attack in Douma on April 7 – believed to have killed at least 75 people – could have been the 12th time the so-called 'red line' on the use of chemical weapons was crossed in the past year.
The French spy agency, known to have sources on all sides of the Syrian conflict, said: 'Since April 2017 [the Sarin attack which sparked a previous US missile strike on Syria], the Syrian regime has increasingly used chemical weapons and toxic agents in its military operations.'
The report concluded that of 44 alleged incidents where chemical weapons or toxic agents were used, 'the evidence collected around 11 of the attacks gave reason to assess that they were of a chemical nature'.
It added: 'Chlorine is believed to have been used in most cases, while the services also believe a neurotoxic agent was used at Harasta on November 18, 2017.'
The report says that expert analysis of online video and photo evidence of the Douma attack showed that 'no deaths from mechanical injuries were visible'.
THE EVIDENCE: COMPRESSED GAS CANISTER - A gas canister found by the civil defence group, the 'White Helmets', in Douma – on the roof of a building where a large number of those killed in the April 7 chemical weapons atrocity were found
AND ANOTHER UNEARTHED NEAR DOUMA - Another gas canister which was found after a Syrian attack in Hamoriye, near Douma, last month. French government officials say the Assad regime has used chemical weapons 12 times in the past 12 months
It said: 'All of these symptoms were characteristic of a chemical weapons attack, particularly choking agents and organophosphorus agents or hydrocyanic acid.
'Given the ongoing military operations in Eastern Ghouta around April 7, we assess with a high degree of confidence that the Syrian regime holds responsibility.'
Investigative journalism site Bellingcat.com also pointed out that the type of canister found and the use of Mi-8 helicopters matched previous incidents in which the regime used chlorine.
A US official said last night Washington had evidence that both sarin and chlorine were used in Douma. Damascus and Moscow have denied any involvement in the attack, with Russian officials saying their experts had found no trace of chemical weapons in Douma, and then claiming the attack had been staged by rebels. On Friday, Moscow even claimed Britain 'staged' the attack.
Leading British WMD expert Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said there was no doubt Syria was behind the Douma attack, because only a state actor possessed the facilities to manufacture and use.
'You cannot produce a complex nerve agent in your shed,' he said. 'The agent used in Douma was a sophisticated product and the mixing of the precursor substances requires a lot of skill and training.
'In using chemical weapons, Assad was only doing what he has done, and what he has got away with doing, many times in the past.'
Russia's not so secret weapon... fake news
The Russian Embassy in London last night disputed the success of Western air strikes, claiming that 'of the 103 cruise missiles launched by the US and its allies, 71 were intercepted by Syria's air defences, using mostly Soviet-made systems'.
Here, The Mail on Sunday lists other examples of 'fake news' pumped out by the Kremlin:
BRITAIN HELPED FAKE THE DOUMA ATTACK
The Kremlin claimed that Britain ordered the volunteer aid organisation, the White Helmets, to 'stage' the chemical weapons attack in Douma. The UK ambassador to the UN, Karen Pierce, branded the claims 'grotesque'.
THE UK POISONED SERGEI SKRIPAL
Russia suggested Britain poisoned former spy Sergei Skripal to deflect attention from Brexit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: 'It could be beneficial to the British Government, which has found itself in an uncomfortable situation, unable to fulfil promises they made about Brexit.'
War of words: Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya talks to Britain's Karen Pierce
BRITAIN ABDUCTED THE SKRIPALS
The Kremlin also accused Britain of the 'abduction' of Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia after she was quietly released from hospital last week. In fact, Yulia, 33, said she had refused help from the Russian Embassy.
TOURISTS WARNED ABOUT BRITISH SPIES
Russia last week issued warnings to tourists travelling to the UK to be aware that British agents may plant 'foreign objects' in their luggage. Its embassy told visitors: 'Given the Russophobia in British society artificially imposed by the authorities, it is necessary to avoid conflict situations with the local population.' A Whitehall source said: 'We're frankly astonished – it is pure fake news.'
THE QUEEN IS A DRINKER
Aleksey Pushkov, a Russian senator and close ally of Vladimir Putin, suggested the Queen is a heavy drinker. Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin said the comments were designed to distract from Russia's responsibility for the poisoning of the Skripals.
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