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MichaelDavidCrawford writes:

Two people - including a thirteen year old girl - died and one hundred twenty were sickened when the rebels in Aleppo were hit with a chlorine gas attack.

Chlorine was the first gas used during the first World War. That it is largely ineffective led to the development of such treats as Mustard Gas and Lewisite.

Doctors in Aleppo Tend to Scores of Victims in Gas Attack:

Rescuers and citizen journalists who went to the scene said by text message that there had been a strong smell of bleach.

One of the victims, a 13-year-old girl named Hajer Kyali, died Wednesday afternoon. She had been in intensive care since the attack, which doctors said they believed had struck her family's house directly, delivering a deadly dose of the gas.

Medical staff members described seeing people with symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, irritation of the eyes, nausea and in some cases respiratory failure. Such symptoms are consistent with attacks involving chlorine, which can kill in high concentrations.

Syria promised to give up its war gas a while back but in my understanding has surrendered only a tiny portion of its stockpile.

However, chlorine gas is quite easy to make. Possibly it was used because the aggressors had no access to the more-effective gasses such as Mustard Gas and Sarin.

Additional Reporting:

• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37291182
• http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-aleppo-idUKKCN11C1S5

[This is by no means the first such attack. See here for Wikipedia info.]

[According to Wikipedia, earlier attacks did include Sarin. Chlorine is readily available from industrial sources]

Original Submission