Israeli official says Assad used chemical weapons against Syrian opponents

A senior Israeli military intelligence official has claimed Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons last month in his battle against insurgent groups.

It was the first time Israel has accused the embattled Syrian leader of using his stockpile of non-conventional weapons.

Although the US says it has not been able to verify the claims, President Barack Obama has warned the introduction of chemical weapons by Assad would be a “game changer.”

Israel, which borders south-western Syria, has been warily watching the Syrian civil war since the fighting erupted there in March 2011.

Brigadier General Itai Brun, the head of research and analysis in Israeli military intelligence, told a security conference in Tel Aviv: “To the best of our professional understanding, the regime used lethal chemical weapons against the militants in a series of incidents over the past months.”