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'Israeli jets hit Syrian chemical site' - reports 'Israeli jets hit Syria's Masyaf chemical site' - reports
(35 minutes later)
Syria says Israeli jets have hit a military base in the west of the country, amid reports of a strike on a chemical weapons factory. The Syrian army says Israeli jets have attacked a military base in the west of the country, amid reports of a strike on a suspected chemical weapons site.
An army statement said rockets fired from Lebanese airspace targeted the site near Masyaf, killing two soldiers. A statement said rockets fired from Lebanese airspace hit the site near Masyaf, killing two soldiers.
Unconfirmed Arab media reports say a chemical weapons production facility was hit in the attack. Arab media and a monitoring group reported that a chemical weapons production facility was targeted.
Israel, which has carried out clandestine attacks on weapons sites in Syria before, has not commented.Israel, which has carried out clandestine attacks on weapons sites in Syria before, has not commented.
The incident comes a day after UN investigators said they had concluded that the Syrian government was behind a deadly chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in April. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to discuss the reports, saying it does not comment on operational matters.
At least 83 people died in the attack on Khan Sheikhoun, the UN says. Damascus has always denied using chemical weapons. Lebanese media also reported that Israeli jets had violated Lebanese airspace.
Western intelligence reports say Syria is continuing to produce chemical weapons, including at Masayaf, in violation of a 2013 deal to eliminate them. The incident comes a day after UN human rights investigators said they had concluded a Syrian Air Force jet had dropped a bomb containing the nerve agent Sarin on a rebel-held town in April.
At least 83 people were killed in that attack, most of them women and children, according to the investigators.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the incident in Khan Sheikhoun - which prompted the US to launch a missile strike on an airbase - was a "fabrication".
He has insisted his forces destroyed their entire chemical arsenal under a deal brokered by the US and Russia after a Sarin attack outside Damascus in 2013.
However, a Western intelligence agency told the BBC in May that the Syrian government was continuing to produce chemical munitions at three main sites - at Masyaf, and at Dummar and Barzeh, both just outside Damascus. All three are branches of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC).
The SSRC is promoted as a civilian research institute by Mr Assad's government, but the US accuses the agency of focusing on the development of non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them.
Israel has sporadically carried out air strikes on sites in Syria in recent years.Israel has sporadically carried out air strikes on sites in Syria in recent years.
It recently accused Syria of allowing its arch-enemy Iran to build missile factories there and says it aims to thwart the transfer of advanced weaponry from Syria to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It recently accused Syria of allowing Israel's arch-enemy Iran to build missile factories there and says it aims to thwart the transfer of advanced weaponry from Syria to the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.