At least 11 people were left struggling to breathe on Saturday after air strikes on Syria's rebel town of Douma, as rescuers alleged that toxic gases were used, the Daily Mail reported a monitor saying, but the State TV quickly denied.
The Daily Mail mentioned that Syria regime resumed the offensive on Douma after an apparent break down in the negotiations between Jaish al-Islam opposition faction and Russia.
On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes on the northern edges of the town had left 11 people, including five children, "suffocating and suffering shortness of breath." The monitor told AFP it could not specify the reason for the symptoms, but the White Helmets rescue forces said Douma had been hit with toxic gas.
"Cases of suffocation between the civilians in the residential neighbourhood in the city Douma after it was targeted by poison gas chlorine," it wrote on its English-language Twitter account. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) also told AFP that medical staff they supported inside Douma had reported chlorine use. But a Government source said to the State media that these accusations are a "farce", and the Assad's army is progressing rapidly and does not need to use any chemical substance.