Mail Online 08.21.2013
Activists claim 1,300 killed in government rocket strike on residential area
If true, it would represent the worst known use of chemical weapons since Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in the town of Halabja in 1988
Chemical warheads hit suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar
They hit just before dawn as families lay sleeping
A UN team is in Syria to probe chemical weapons use by President Assad
Many countries have called for an immediate investigation
French Foreign Minister has called the attack an 'unprecedented atrocity'
William Hague said hopes attack will 'wake up some' who support Assad
Claims come as refugees flood into Iraqi Kurdistan
The world has looked on in horror as graphic images emerged showing the aftermath of a dawn poison gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus that wiped out 1,300 people as they lay sleeping in their beds.
Syrian activists accuse President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching the nerve gas attack in what would be by far the worst reported use of poison gas in the two-year-old civil war.
Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar before dawn.
While these pictures of dead children are graphic, disturbing and undoubtedly the worst so far to have emerged from the conflict, MailOnline has made the decision to publish them in order to raise awareness of the plight of innocent people in a war that shows no sign of ending. Pictures here
SARIN: ONE OF THE MOST DEADLY CHEMICAL AGENTS
Activists say the nerve agent Sarin was used in the alleged chemical weapons attack that killed up to 1,300 people.
Sarin is colourless, tasteless and odourless, unlike mustard gas which smells of rotten onions or garlic.
It is one of the most toxic of the known chemical warfare agents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Once a person has breathed in Sarin, death can occur within one to 10 minutes if there is no treatment.
If it is drunk, the victim can survive for up to 18 hours.
A fraction of an ounce of the nerve agent on the skin can be fatal.
Exposure to the gas causes pupils to shrink to pinpoint sizes and foaming at the lips.
Symptoms include paralysis, loss of consciousness and respiratory failure.
Treatment needs to be given straight away and antidotes include Atropine and pralidoxime chloride.
Syria is believed to have one of the largest arsenals in the world of chemical weapons, including Sarin and mustard gas.
full story and pictures here