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I don't rule anything out: Jim Mattis on taking action in Syria

I don't rule anything out: Jim Mattis on taking action in Syria

Syria chemical attack

Story highlights

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday said he would not rule out a military response as he pointed towards Russia's role in a suspected poison gas attack in Syria

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday said he would not rule out a military response as he pointed towards Russia's role in a suspected poison gas attack in Syria.

The US Defence Secretary questioned why chemical weapons were being used at all when Russia was the "framework guarantor of removing all the chemical weapons.

"The first thing we have to look at is why are chemical weapons still being used at all when Russia was the framework guarantor of removing all the chemical weapons," Mattis said at the Pentagon in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart.

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"Working with our allies and our partners from NATO to Qatar and elsewhere, we are going to address this issue .... I don't rule out anything right now," he said.

Rescue workers reported dozens being killed by poison gas on rebel-held parts of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, sparking international outrage.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime and its ally Russia denied the allegations of a chlorine gas attack on the town of Douma, calling them "fabrications".

US President Donald Trump on Sunday condemned the attack on Twitter and held Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia and Iran responsible for backing Syria's President Bashar Assad.

(With inputs from AFP)