Saga of shell-shocked Syria

Speculation over the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict is rising. On April 25, United States officials said its intelligence community believes President Bashar al-Assad's forces are likely to have used chemical weapons, specifically chemical agent sarin, on a small scale against the rebel fighters.

Since the US has said it would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by Assad in the conflict (meaning that by doing so Assad would invite direct US action against himself), the unverified intelligence could have grave consequences on the Syrian conflict.

The Syrian government has denied the West's allegations that it has used chemical weapons and, instead, has claimed that such weapons had been used by the opposition forces. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the chemical weapons used by the rebels in a northern Syrian town of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province were probably acquired from Turkey because the missile, which targeted the town, was fired from a rebel-held base not far from the Turkish borders.