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DAMASCUS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Several Syrian soldiers suffered suffocation and breathing difficulties when rebel groups attacked a government military position east of the capital Damascus, using unidentified nerve agent, state TV said Thursday.
The rebels attacked the military post in the eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus on Wednesday, the report said.
The rebels may have used Sarin in the attack, the report said. "Terrorist groups have repeatedly used poisonous gas, including Sarin, in several Syrian areas... to cover for their losses at the hands of the Syrian army."
Further details surrounding the attack Wednesday are still forthcoming.
The TV report said rebels managed to smuggle components of poisonous gas producing equipment into the country from neighboring Turkey.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has carried out several inspections in Syria and saw the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal with the help of international powers.
