UK scientists find sarin gas samples from Khan Sheikhoun attack

British scientists have found sarin gas samples taken from a site of a recent chemical gas attack in Syria.

Britain's UN Ambassador Sir Matthew Rycroft informed the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) that the samples taken from the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun and analysed by British scientists had tested positive for sarin or a sarin-like substance, reports the Independent.

Sarin, or GB, is a colorless and odorless liquid, used as a chemical weapon due to its extreme potency as a nerve agent. It is generally considered a weapon of mass destruction

"The United Kingdom, therefore, shares the U.S. assessment that it is highly likely that the regime was responsible for a sarin attack on Khan Sheikhoun on April 4," said Rycroft.

 

The majority of the international community has blamed the attack, which killed 87 people, including many children, on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey has also claimed to have found evidence of sarin gas use after testing the bodies of the victims.

The Syrian government has denied involvement in the toxic attack and blamed rebel groups.

The chemical attack also invited deadly U.S. air strike on the Shayrat airfield of the Syrian air forces, believed by Washington to be the base for warplanes that carried out the chemical attack.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the strike as an "act of aggression" and said it violates international law.

Moscow also denied a chemical weapons attack took place in Syria saying the deaths in Khan Sheikhoun were caused by a Syrian regime airstrike on a rebel-controlled chemical weapons factory on the ground.