The United States has detected potential preparations for a chemical attack at the Syrian Shayrat airfield, which was used in April to launch a chemical attack that killed more than 80 people in Khan Sheikhoun.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said Tuesday the activity involved specific aircraft in a specific hangar known to be associated with chemical weapons use.
Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the United States had identified "potential preparations" for a chemical attack, similar to the April attack in northern Syria that prompted U.S. airstrikes in response.
Spicer warned Syria if its forces carry out another chemical attack it will "pay a heavy price."
Syrian officials denied the allegations.
Russia also warned
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter any further attacks against Syrian civilians will also be blamed on Russia and Iran who support Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Russia and Iran are Assad's main backers, and have provided military support in the complex fight against both rebels and Islamic State militants.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday threats against the Syrian leadership are "unacceptable," and that he did not know of any information about a threat for a chemical attack.
Analysis by the French government found sarin gas was used in the April attack, along with a stabilizer known as hexamine, and the same manufacturing process was used for a 2013 chemical attack attributed to the Syrian government.
Assad rejected charges his forces were responsible for the Khan Sheikhoun attack, saying the incident was a "fabrication" the United States used to justify a military strike against Syrian forces.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said told Sky News Tuesday he plans to discuss the situation with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a meeting Thursday in Brussels.
"We fully supported the last strike [against Syria's military] that took out the airplanes and the support that they required to drop chemical weapons, and if the United States is considering a similar strike, then we will support that, too," Fallon said.
Heightened tensions
Regional analyst Anthony Billingsley of the University of New South Wales told VOA he fears that with the recent shooting down of a Syrian jet and a Russian threat to treat planes from a U.S.-led coalition as hostile, another retaliatory strike could be "a much more serious danger."
"We’re now starting to add to the sort of militarization of this particular tension between governments, and that’s very worrying because these things can suddenly lose control and get out of hand," Billingsley said.
Read More US Suspects Activity at Syrian Air Base Used in Chemical Attack : http://ift.tt/2sijS3p
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