Syria’s Sarin Gas Stockpile Destroyed, Pentagon Confirms
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The entire Syrian stockpile of precursors required to make sarin gas has been destroyed by US experts on board a US neutralizer ship, Pentagon officials confirmed.
“I am pleased to announce that the crew aboard Cape Ray has completed neutralization of 100 percent of the sarin precursor aboard the ship, which amounts to about 581 metric tons neutralized,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said.
Warren added the Cape Ray crew are now in the process of neutralizing 19.8 tons of sulfur mustard and should be completed by the end of August, RT reported.
Syria agreed to the destruction of its chemical weapons through a US-Russia brokered deal last September. The decision was sparked by a deadly sarin gas attack in August 21 near Damascus that killed hundreds of people. The West blamed President Bashar Assad forces for it, while Damascus accused the rebels of committing that terror act as a provocation.
Following the agreement, the removal of chemical agents from Syria began in early January and in June the OPCW confirmed that 100% of the declared Syrian chemical arsenal was removed from the country.
Hundreds of tons of the most hazardous Syrian chemical arsenal have been handed over to the US vessel which has special equipment to neutralize a dangerous stockpile in July.
