The nerve agent Sarin was definitely used in a deadly attack on a rebel-held town in northern Syria’s Idlib province on 4 April, Turkish health minister Recep Akdag said on 11 April, quoted by Turkish daily Hurriyet.
“As a result of blood and urine samples taken from the victims subjected to the use of chemical war material in Idlib, Isopropyl methylphosphonic acid, the metabolite of sarin gas, was confirmed,” Akdag said.
Around 30 victims were brought to Turkey for treatment following the attack on Khan Sheikhoun in which Syrian activists cited doctors as saying victims fainted, vomited, choked and foamed at the mouth.
The Syrian pro-opposition Edlib Media Centre and the opposition Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) network said after the attack the substance dropped was believed to be Sarin, which is highly toxic and is considered 20 times as deadly as cyanide.
Over 80 civilians including 20 children died in the atrocity, which drew international outrage. Syria and Russia deny they carried out a chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun.
Initial findings collected from the autopsies of three Syrians who died after being brought to Turkey for treatment suggested the use of sarin gas, Turkey's health ministry said.
The autopsies were attended by representatives from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Hurriyet said.
