(REUTERS/Hosam Katan)
Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Syria appears to be amassing its forces in the region. More than 100 al-Nusra fighters have arrived to the Kafr Hamrah village, located in the northwestern suburbs of Aleppo, from Turkey, the ministry said, citing local civilians.
Earlier this year, militants carried out a chemical attack in Aleppo. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) told RIA Novosti that “Islamist militants acting under the protection of Turkey” were responsible for the assault.
Various radical groups, who have been fighting in Syria to remove Bashar al-Assad, have been accused of using chemical weapons against civilians.
“Jaysh al-Islam group has used chlorine in Aleppo, and, it seems, is not even trying to hide it. It goes without saying that Russia condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons in combat operations by anyone, including non-state entities,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
#Churkin: Chemical weapons are spread by terrorists whereas some states turn blind eye on that & go on blaming ‘Assad regime’ for everything
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 7, 2016