THE government of Syria has blamed a ‘terrorist group’ for a gas attack that killed five people in the city of Aleppo today, the state-run news agency reported.

“Five civilians were killed and eight others suffered suffocation due to a terrorist attack with shells containing poisonous gas,” Aleppo’s health director Mohamad Hazouri told the Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana), the official agency of the Assad regime.

An anti-regime group, meanwhile, has claimed that suspected chlorine gas cylinders were dropped in Idlib province by Russian or Syrian forces.

It is unclear if the attacks have any connection. Russia spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the media had fabricated the claims.

The Syrian Civil Defence Idlib White Helmets rescue service, which operates in rebel-held territory, has said a helicopter dropped toxic gas cylinders overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier

They said that cylinders suspected of containing chlorine gas were dropped in residential areas in the city of Saraqeb in Idlib province.

Syrians hold photos of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian president Vladimir Putin during a pro-Syrian regime protest. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

No physical wounds

Ibrahim al-Assaad, a doctor who treated the victims, told The Guardian that none of the 29 injured he saw exhibited physical wounds.

“All of them had breathing and lung problems, spanning mild, moderate and severe symptoms, while coughing and having bloodshot eyes.

They smelled of chlorine, and the civil defence workers who rescued them said the site of the attack also smelled strongly of chlorine.

“It is impossible to get used to this pain we see,” he added. “Impossible.”

The gas has caused 30 cases of breathing difficulties, the group said, posting a YouTube video purporting to show victims of the incident with oxygen masks on their faces.

A man casts his vote at a polling station during the Syrian parliamentary election in Damascus, Syria in April. Hassan Ammar / PA Hassan Ammar / PA / PA

The Syrian National Council has blamed the Assad regime for the alleged attack and called on the UN to “shoulder its responsibilities towards stopping such attacks”.

“Developments on the ground show how the Assad regime continues to blatantly ignore international law and UN Security Council resolutions, especially those related to the use of chemical weapons,” the SNC said in a statement.

Aleppo is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, with the eastern part of the city, held by Islamist rebels, under siege by government forces.

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