Turkish ministry says tests on Syria attack victims point to possible sarin exposure

Initial results of tests on victims of an attack which killed dozens of people in Syria's Idlib province point to possible exposure to sarin gas, Turkey's health ministry said on Thursday.

It said 31 people hurt in Tuesday's attack were being treated in Turkish hospitals and three people had died since being brought from Syria.

• Poison gas attack blamed on AssadRussia yesterday denied Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was to blame for a poison gas attack that killed 72 people and said it would continue to back him, setting the Kremlin on a diplomatic collision course with other powers.

"Based on the test results, evidence was detected in patients which leads one to think they were exposed to a chemical substance (sarin)," the statement said. 

Merkel says lack of UN resolution on Syria attack a "scandal" - Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday it was a scandal that the United Nations Security Council did not pass a resolution condemning a suspected chemical attack in Syria this week which killed at least 70 people.

• Syria strike hit rebel 'toxic' weapons depot, says MoscowA Syrian air strike hit a "terrorist warehouse" containing "toxic substances", Moscow said Wednesday, a day after a suspected chemical attack in rebel-held northwest Syria that killed scores of civilians.

"It was a barbaric attack that must be cleared up. The use of chemical weapons is a war crime," Merkel told a news conference in eastern Germany, adding there were some indications it was carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

• Pope Francis calls Syria attack an 'unacceptable massacre'Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned a suspected chemical attack in Syria that left more than 70 dead in a rebel-held town as an "unacceptable massacre"

"It is a scandal that no U.N. Security Council resolution materialised and those who opposed it must consider what responsibility they bear," she said. She declined to interpret U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that the attack went "beyond a red line".