Fears Assad’s stockpiles of poison gas & nerve agents will be stolen by terrorists as vid shows strike on chemical base
Ex-chief Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun ISIS is keen to lay its hands on chemical weapons
ISLAMIC terror outfits could steal Bashar al-Assad’s stockpiles of poisonous chemical weapons and orchestrate deadly attacks across the world, it is feared.
US and Israeli Air Forces are now striking military bases to destroy the weapons left behind by the Assad regime after Syrian rebels toppled his reign.
Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013 after the government was accused of launching an attack near Damascus that killed hundreds of people.
However, Assad is widely believed to have kept some of the weapons and was accused of using them again in subsequent years.
According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), it is “seriously concerned” by large gaps in Syria’s declaration about its chemical weapons stockpile.
In 2013, the Syrian military dropped bombs filled with nerve agent sarin against the opposition-controlled town of Ghouta.
The attack killed over 1,500 civilians near the capital Damascus.
After the attack, Syria declared its arsenal of chemical weapons was being removed.
However, there were plenty of signs that showed Assad did not intend to comply fully with the commitment.
Widespread reports emerged of chemical weapons attacks involving chlorine gas barrel bombs dropped by helicopters on opposition-controlled towns, resulting in injuries and fatalities.
Over the years since then, however, the chemical watchdog has repeatedly raised suspicions of the regime’s potential harbouring of its stockpile, and has even accused Damascus of continued chemical attacks on civilians.
Chemical expert and former Nato chief Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun how terror groups such as the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could try to seize such dangerous weapons.
Having witnessed such attacks first-hand while serving as a chemical weapons advisor in the region, he said: “There is a concern that ISIS may try and get these chemical weapons.
“I have seen them firing mustard gas and chlorine mortars at us a number of times, so we know ISIS are keen on chemical weapons use.
“At the moment I think it is unlikely that ISIS or other jihadists would be able to get hold of these stockpiles as the West is keeping a very close eye on them.”
Mr de Bretton Gordon explained Assad’s chemical weapons program – and that a lot of it is still left out.
“[Assad’s] chemical weapons programme was built around the nerve agent Sarin which he used multiple times, Mustard Agent [aka Gas] and toxic industrial chemicals like chlorine and ammonia.
“The OPCW removed 1500 tonnes of chemical weapons pre-cursor chemicals in 2014, but I think this was less than half of his chemical weapons stockpiles.
“Sarin is very poisonous and Assad used a lot of chlorine which is much less toxic but has killed and injured 100s of people during his rule. There will be 1000s of tonnes of chlorine in Syria as it has many commercial uses.”
The US Air Force has already carried out strikes to target facilities that could be stocking such chemicals.
A White House official said: “We are taking very prudent measures about this […] We are doing everything we can to ensure that those materials are not available to anyone and are cared for.
“We want to make sure that chlorine or things that are far worse are destroyed or secured. There are several efforts in this regard with partners in the region.”
Joe Biden warned that ISIS would exploit the regime change in Syria and attempt to reestablish itself.
He confirmed the US would continue its involvement in the region to establish a transition “toward independent, sovereign and independent.”
More than 75 “precision airstrikes” were carried out on Sunday as fears over a power vacuum forming in the wartorn country grow.
CENTCOM added: “The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple US Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s.”
Meanwhile, Israelis, who welcomed the fall of Assad, also struck various facilities in Syria targeting chemical weapons stockpiles.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: “The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens.
“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”
Saar did not provide details about when or where the strikes took place, but explosions were reported in the area of the Mezzeh military airport, southwest of the capital, on Sunday.
The airport has previously been targeted in Israeli airstrikes.
ASSAD’S DOWNFALL
Assad’s rule over Syria ended dramatically after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
Dozens of exiled fighters from the militant Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a surprise offensive against Vladimir Putin’s ally President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
This marked the conclusion of a regime notorious for its brutality, including chemical attacks, mass detentions, and the decimation of Syrian cities.
But challenges remain as Syrians celebrate, but hopes rise for a democratic future after years of war.
His fall not only signals the collapse of a dynastic dictatorship but also underscores the cost of clinging to power through terror.
Bashar al-Assad has left behind a shattered nation.
He decimated Syria’s infrastructure, fractured its society, and plunged millions into despair.
Syria became synonymous with human suffering, and Assad’s name will forever be tied to some of the worst war crimes of the modern era.
The man once seen as a modernising reformer will be remembered instead as a symbol of unchecked brutality, his legacy written in the blood of his own people.
The dramatic rise and fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad
ASSAD'S rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
His life took a dramatic turn in 1994 when his elder brother, Bassel, the family’s chosen heir, died in a car accident.
Bashar was abruptly recalled to Syria and groomed for power.
Initially, hope stirred for reform as Bashar promised modernisation, anti-corruption measures, and political openness.
But the so-called “Damascus Spring” was short-lived.
Within a year, Assad cracked down on dissenters, signalling the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
The Assad regime quickly devolved into a kleptocracy, with Assad and his extended family siphoning wealth while suppressing opposition.
The Syrian Civil War became a geopolitical quagmire.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, portrayed himself as a bulwark against terrorism while cynically releasing jihadist prisoners to bolster extremist factions.
This fuelled the rise of groups like ISIS, reshaping global terror.
The end of Assad’s reign came abruptly in December 2024, as rebel forces launched a lightning offensive, exploiting weakened Syrian defences.
Rebels captured Damascus in a lightning campaign, declaring the capital “free” and marking the end of years of brutal authoritarian rule.
With Russia mired in Ukraine and Iran preoccupied with regional conflicts, Assad’s regime was left vulnerable.
Rebels stormed Aleppo, marking a symbolic victory, and Assad fled Damascus.
Assad left aboard a military plane amid rumours of its crash before resurfacing in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin granted him asylum.
It comes as an apparent Russian conspiracy to distribute false news about an al-Assad ‘aircraft accident’ has been exposed.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security claimed on X that Russia “hid their trail” in assisting al-Assad’s escape by circulating fake claims that he died in a crash.
Meanwhile, opposition forces took control of key cities, toppled Assad’s statues, and announced plans for a transitional government.
The fall of Assad deals a blow to allies Russia and Iran, with both withdrawing assets from Syria.
