Nine Syrian rebels transferred to Turkey’s Gaziantep on suspicion of chemical attack

GAZİANTEP

Nine Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels were transferred to the southern Turkish province of Gaziantep from neighboring Kilis, on suspicion that they carried the symptoms of being a victim of a chemical attack, Doğan News Agency reported late on Nov. 27.

The Turkish military said early on Nov. 27 that 22 FSA rebels “were observed to have been exposed in their eyes and bodies to chemical gas,” by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in the area of the village of Khaliliya, east of al-Rai in northern Syria. They were initially brought to the Turkish border province of Kilis from Syria. 

Later in the day, state-run Anadolu Agency cited military sources as saying that Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) had conducted a necessary inquiry and they did not find traces of a chemical attack. It said a tear gas-like substance might have been put inside mortar and rocket projectiles after emptying their interior of their original material. 

Nine of the wounded rebels were transferred to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear unit (KBRN) in Gaziantep late on Nov. 27, Doğan News Agency reported. The report said parts of the rebels’ bodies were seen to be burnt. 

Meanwhile, four ISIL militants were “neutralized” in the clashes between FSA rebels and the jihadists around the al-Rai region in northern Syria on the 97th day of Turkey’s Euphrates Shield Operation, the army said in a statement on Nov. 28. 

The FSA took control of the Khaliliya, Ajami and Shabviran villages in the area, read the statement, adding that Turkish jets destroyed four buildings used by ISIL during an air operation.