Syrian Rebels Claim To Have Chemical Weapons

This has just been released by Arutz Sheva Israel National News, and if true will represent a huge development in the region with bigger ramifications. It will be very interesting to follow this breaking story. From the article it is unclear if these missiles actually contain the chemical weapons ( the quote "some of the missiles were converted to carry non-conventional warheads" sounds like these missiles have already been converted, which is consistent with the headline, however a subsequent sentence reads "and which can be equipped with chemical or biological warheads" which adds some confusion), but this is the first report and more detail may follow in subsequent articles (one of the problems with posting an 'early' story):

Syrian Rebels Claim To Take Over Have Chemical Weapons

A statement published by the Syrian rebels says that they have taken over a military base and found missiles with non-conventional warheads.

The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.

“During the successful operation, the operatives of the Free Syrian Army found a large number of rockets ready for launching, with enormous destructive capability, and they were very surprised to find missiles that were converted to carry non-conventional warheads and which can be equipped with chemical or biological warheads,” said the statement which was translated by Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi.

The Supreme Military Council of the rebels went on to claim that it had confirmed the report by examining photographic documentation of the scene.

The Council called on Arab countries and the international community to immediately intervene in order to protect the lives of the Syrian people “before the regime moves to a new level of crimes, which will have tragic consequences for the entire region.”

The Council warned that these facts indicate that the Assad regime is getting ready to bomb cities in Syria using these missiles, and the possibility that he will use missiles with unconventional warheads cannot be ruled out.

On Monday, French President Francois Holllande warned that any use of chemical weapons by Syria would be sufficient reason for Western countries to intervene in Syria.

Israel has expressed concerns that Assad’s chemical weapons will end up in the hands of the Hizbullah terror group if his regime falls.

Syria has admitted it has chemical weapons and has threatened to use them if attacked by external forces. It claimed it will not use these weapons on rebels fighting to oust Assad.

Recent reports from Syria indicated that Assad has transferred a battery of advanced missiles to the al-Masna border crossing, which is the central route used to transfer equipment and weapons to Hizbullah. Members of the Syrian opposition said that one of two major chemical arsenals of the Syrian regime is located near that border crossing.