White House accuses Syria of preparing another chemical attack, issues ominous warning to Assad

SANA/Handout via REUTERSSyria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with RIA Novosti and Sputnik in this handout picture provided by SANA on April 21, 2017, Syria.The White House on Monday evening issued an ominous warning to Syria, accusing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of preparing a potential new chemical attack.

"The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children," the White House statement read in part. "The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack."

"As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price," the statement read.

Specifics about the alleged preparations were not immediately clear. The Trump administration in April ordered missile strikes on an airfield in Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 80 civilians.

The April missile strikes targeted the Shayrat airfield and nearby military infrastructure controlled by Assad. The strikes yielded mixed results, only temporarily halting Syria's aviation capabilities there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is a close ally of Assad, criticized the US in the wake of the strikes, briefly ramping up tensions between itself and the Trump administration. Russia sent additional warships to Syria as a result.

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