Syrian army seizes sarin cylinders from militants in Hama

The Syrian army has seized two cylinders of the nerve agent sarin during an operation in the city of Hama. Syrian media say the operation was carried out against a militant hideout in the city’s al-Faraieh neighborhood on Saturday. Sarin is a colorless, odorless liquid gas which causes respiratory arrest and death. The poisonous agent has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687. The foreign-backed militants in Syria have repeatedly threatened to use such weapons. A video released last December showed them testing chemical agents on lab rabbits and threatening to kill pro-government Syrians. On May 5, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria said it found testimony from victims and medical staff that showed foreign-backed militants had used the nerve agent in Syria. On March 19, over two dozen people were killed and many others injured when militants fired missiles containing a chemical substance into a village near the northwestern city of Aleppo, according to a report by Syria’s official news agency SANA. On May 30, Turkish media reported that the country’s security forces had confiscated two kilograms of sarin after raiding the homes of militants from the terrorist group al-Nusra Front. The incident took place in Turkey’s southern city of Adana, located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the border with Syria. The Syrian government says Ankara has been playing a key role in fueling the unrest in Syria by financing, training, and arming the militants since the turmoil erupted in March 2011.