Alleged Chemical Attack Khan Sheikhoun 4 April 2017

On April 4, 2017, reports emerged of an alleged Chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, in Idlib province at the border to Hama province (wikimapia) that morning claiming dozens killed, including several children. Victims were said to suffer fainting, foaming at the mouth, and eventual asphyxiation. (the symptoms described and shown aren't clearly those of sarin, but definitely not those of chlorine)

Within a day, the reported death toll was at least 70 people. This makes it at least the third deadliest alleged CW attack in Syria so far. It's reported the dead are all or mostly civilians, and include at least 43 children. The majority of photos show infants and youths, and a few adult males.

ACLOS analysis has begun, as usual working out initially on the discussion page.

What happened?
There are four possible explanations to the alleged events in Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017
 * 1) The Syrian air force dropped chemical weapons on Khan Sheikhoun, as claimed by Syrian "activist", the White House and Western media.
 * 2) The Syrian air force hit a rebel or al-Nusra weapons warehouse storing chemical weapons or other lethal chemicals. This is the position of Russia and is also endorsed by some Americans.
 * 3) Rebels staged a false-flag attack, releasing lethal chemicals into the atmosphere, in an attempt to get the U.S. overtly involved  on their side in the war against Syria. This is the position of much of the pro-Syria and pro-Trump community. Some even say elements of US government or Deep State were involved.
 * 4) No real attack happened, but the video evidence was staged by the White Helmets using actors or hostages that had been gassed in some confined spaces. This is the position of some ACLOS members who have reviewed the alleged video evidence. It is also inline with what we believe happened in 2013 in the alleged Ghouta CW attack.

Reactions

 * French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for an UNSC emergency meeting.
 * Erdogan called Putin over the event, "said such inhumane attacks are unacceptable".
 * The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement denying having conducted any strikes near the town.
 * Syrian Army sources told Al Masdar News that they have flown an attack with an SU-22 on a missile factory in Khan Sheikhoun, without using chemical weapons or knowing about any stocks in the targeted factory.
 * Syrian Deputy FM Mikdad told Syrian TV that they had a few weeks ago submitted data to the OPCW and the UN about transportation into Syria and storage of toxic substances by Nusra.
 * In a statement on the morning of April 5, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Konashenkov states that the Syrian attack "targeted a militant-held ammunition depot on the eastern outskirts of the city Khan Sheikhun. [...] Workshops for the production of land mines stuffed with poisonous substances were on the territory of this warehouse.”
 * John McCain on CNN
 * BBC and Hamish DeBretton Gordon try to dismiss Russian version of events
 * Kremlin spokesperson Peskov says that Russia will provide evidence for their version to the UNSC.
 * MSNBC decides to support ISIS. Interviews 4 warmongers pushing for Trump to attack Syria (Video)
 * CNN Anchor Speechless After Congressman Questions Syria Chemical Attack Story
 * In the night of April 6-7, US media reports that two US warships fired 50+ Tomahawk missiles at an airbase in south-eastern Homs province in retaliation for the alleged attack they say originated at that place.
 * The Russian Foreign Ministry issues an extensive statement on the Syrian chemical dossier on April 7.
 * Assad in an interview with AFP published April 13 said that he thinks the story is 100% fabricated by "the West" hand in glove with Al-Nusra.
 * Bashar al-Assad interview with RIA Novosti and Sputnik Alrossiten Published April 21. Reiterates no attack at 06:30 to 07:00. Too considered by now to be fog of war so what's the actual story?
 * French National Evaluation Following Defense Council Meeting 26 April 2017 - Blames Syrian Government.

Activist claims

 * Activists say gas attack kills civilians in Syria as EU leaders discuss reconstruction - Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post, April 4, 2017
 * Syria conflict: 'Chemical attack' in Idlib kills dozens - BBC World News
 * Mark on Twitter
 * 'Whole families dead in their beds': Syrian gas attack kills scores - Areeb Ullah, Middle East Eye, April 4, 2017 07:24 UTC

US claims

 * White House Accuses Russia of Chemical Weapons Cover-Up -NY Times, 11 April, 2017
 * ''The White House released a declassified four-page report that details United States intelligence on the chemical weapons attack, asserting that the Syrian and Russian governments have sought to confuse the world community about the assault through disinformation and “false narratives.”
 * Direct link to report PDF, 220KB
 * Press briefing where document was presented, questions asked

Assessment

 * A Quick Turnaround Assessment of the White House Intelligence Report Issued on April 11, 2017, Theodore A. Postol, April 11, 2017 (Postol assessment 041117.pdf)

Counterclaims

 * Moscow demands OPCW explain how White Helmets emerged unharmed in Syrian sarin attack - TASS, April 20, 2017

Reports

 * 'The dead were wherever you looked': inside Syrian town after gas attack - Kareem Shaheen in Khan Sheikhun, The Guardian, April 6, 2017
 * Breaking: VT Investigators Startling Discovery at Khan Sheikhoun - Veterans Today, April 10, 2017
 * The article has vanished from the VT site, but is mirrored by South Front
 * 'The first thing that hits you is the smell' - Omar Haj-Kadour, Mohamed Al-Bakour, AFP, April 4, 2017
 * 'I've rarely felt more fearful for the future,' says PETER OBORNE - Daily Mail, April 15, 2017

Photos

 * Dozens of dead and injured after poison gas attacks targeted «Khan Shaikhoun» Brive Idlib (Photos)
 * Reuters photos by Ammar Abdullah

Video

 * YouTube playlist - Petri Krohn
 * YouTube playlist - Brown Moses / Eliot Higgins‏
 * The 7 Most Intense Videos From The Deadly Syrian Chemical Gas Attack - American Military News, April 4, 2017
 * HAQ News Agency playlist (Most videos are not listed.)
 * Videos for idlib gas attack
 * Syria Chemical Attack Massacre: Hundreds Killed and Injured - NBC Nightly News, April 4, 2017

Other

 * Turkish Health Ministry says initial findings point to sarin gas in Syrian attack, Hürriyet, April 6, 2017

SAAF airstrike on Khan Sheikhoun

 * Video: Khan Shaykhun 4 4 2017 The moment Khan Sikhun was targeted by poisonous bombs by the Syrian Air Force
 * Perpetrator of second largest chemical attack in Syria identified - Orient Net, April 5, 2017
 * Al-Arabiya reports US, UK, and France were asking for the names of any pilots involved. "Syrian Pilot Mohammed al-Hasouri, who took off in his jet from the Shayrat military airport on Tuesday morning, may have not thought that his name may be internationally listed and he will be pursued."
 * Zaman al-Wasl gives details ob "Brig. Gen. Mohammad Yousef Hasouri, Chief of Staff and deputy commander of Shayrat airfield" and heard that he's "one of the biggest war criminals in Syria" even before the gas attack they say killed at least 103.
 * Charles Lister on Twitter: "Reports: The pilot *allegedly* responsible for #KhanSheikhoun CW attack, Gen. Mohammed Yousef Hasouri, has been killed in an IED attack." The reports may be with Orient News, and they seem to be doubted. Some suspect the government killed him to hush up the crime.

Note: These outlets are all sponsored by direct "regime" opponents, be it wealthy Syrian expatriates (Orient News and Zaman al-Wasl), Saudi-Arabia (Al-Arabia) or Qatar (Charles Lister)

Russian involvement

 * Official: Russia knew Syrian chemical attack was coming - AP Top News, April 10, 2017
 * ''But the official said the presence of the surveillance drone over the hospital couldn't have been a coincidence, and that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment.

Russian sources

 * Как «бармалеи» взрывали зарин в Сирии: глубина воронки, анализ проб и скорость ветра — расследование, also published here. This is presented as an independent journalist investigation + reporting 'from the incident location'. Authorship is not provided, but quite a lot is claimed.
 * Crater: created by explosives places on the ground, under 10 kg of explosives (no excavation, shallow depth noted, nearby electrical box not damaged). Fig 6: It is said that al Nusra cemented the crater on 19 Apr.
 * Chemical released. According to report, diisopropyl methylphosphonate, active sarin and hexamine were detected. Fig 7 claims to show sample collection. It is not explained who and how was collecting samples, but Fig.1 shows an area where samples were collected (as claimed). According to report, traces were detected at a distance of up to 100 m. It is estimated that 15 to 25 liters were released, with under 40 % of that airborne (30 % decomposed, 30% remained in the crater). Fatal dosage estimated to be at a distance under 55 m, secondary area up to 220 m; those areas are shown on Fig. 8.
 * Weather/wind. According to this source, Wind speed - 1 m / s; Temperature - plus 13 degrees; Wind direction from west-southwest.

Analysis

 * The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack — Who Bombed What and When? - Christiaan Triebert, Bellingcat, April 10, 2017

Critical

 * Jumping to conclusions; something is not adding up in Idlib chemical weapons attack - Paul Antonopoulos, AMN, April 4, 2017
 * On Tuesday’s Massive Criminal Chemical Weapons Lies against Syria - Miri Wood, Syria news, April 5, 2017
 * Pünktlich zur geplanten Syrienkonferenz haben Terroristen in #Idlib horrende False-Flag-Attacken inszeniert, urs1798, April 5, 2017
 * This extensive, German language analysis deals mostly with the media productions and the producers, relying on long-term observation of the scene and actors in Idlib province. It finds that the "citizen journalists" presenting the videos of this event are the same that are frequently on scene, and in not so prominently distributed videos in arms with the leaders of the terrorist groups Jabhat al-Nusra/Jund al-Aqsa (aka al-Qaeda) who control the region.


 * Idlib CW False-Flag Covers for Islamist Massacre - Adam Larson, Monitor blog (ACLOS affiliated), April 4-6, 2017
 * Report: Soros-Linked Group Behind Chemical Attack in Syria - Mimi Al-Laham, Infowars, April 5, 2017
 * ''Chemical attack has all the hallmarks of a false flag
 * Another Dangerous Rush to Judgment in Syria - Robert Parry, April 5, 2017
 * Syria’s alleged gas attack: An imperialist provocation - Bill Van Auken, WSWS, April 6, 2017
 * Evidence Calls Western Narrative About Syrian Chemical Attack Into Question - William Craddick, Disobedient Media, April 6, 2017
 * How The Neocons Are Tempting Trump On Syria - Andrew Korybko, Geopolitica.ru, April 7, 2017
 * The Escalating War on Syria and Need for International Law - Rick Sterling, AH Tribune, April 7, 2017
 * Rusvesna military source, 7 Apr. 2017: chemical munition will have just around 100-500 g of explosives, to release chemical without destroying it. This does not appear consistent with quite significant damage to the road at the alleged crater, or destruction of a house on other photos. Also it appears that all bomb fragments were removed. (Photos in the report).
 * Chemical Attack in Idlib — Duplication of Eastern Ghouta Scenario - Mariam Alhijab, Syrian Media Center via OffGuardian, April 8, 2017
 * Is the sarin also a lie? - Catte, OffGuardian, April 8, 2017
 * Philip Giraldi says IC-Military Doubt Assad Gas Narrative - libertarianinstitute.org, via OffGuardian, April 8, 2017
 * The Khan Sheikoun Show Was Trump's Production - Moon of Alabama, April 8, 2017
 * In Desperation Move, Tahrir al-Sham (al Qaeda) Kidnapped Civilians from Khattab Days Before Syrian Strike on Their Base – For What Purpose? - Scott Creighton, April 8, 2017
 * Where Was CIA’s Pompeo on Syria? - Robert Parry, Consortiumnews, April 8, 2017
 * ''Before the photo was released on Friday, a source told me that Pompeo had personally briefed Trump on April 6 about the CIA’s belief that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was likely not responsible for the lethal poison-gas incident in northern Syria two days earlier — and thus Pompeo was excluded from the larger meeting as Trump reached a contrary decision.
 * The alleged Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack - HRI, April 9, 2017
 * Wag The Dog — How Al Qaeda Played Donald Trump And The American Media, Scott Ritter, Huffington Post, April 9, 2017
 * Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern debunks the alleged Syria ‘Chemical Attack’ - Intel Today, April 9, 2017
 * False Flagger: Al-Nusra Front Terrorist ‘Reporter’ Hadi Abdallah First Responder to Chemical Massacre in Idlib, Syria on April 4th, 2017 - CLARITY OF SIGNAL, April 10, 2017
 * Turkey Should Be the Prime Suspect in Syria 'Gas Attack' . M.K. Bhadrakumar, Russia Insider, April 11, 2017
 * Robert D. Steele: The White Helmets Were Paid to Create a False Flag Chemical Attack - AH Tribune, April 11, 2017
 * The White House Report - TTG - Sic Semper Tyrannis, April 13, 2017
 * Will ‘Big Lies’ About Syria’s Chemical Weapons Spark a New US War? - Michael Jabara Carley, Strategic Culture, April 12, 2017
 * The Syria Strikes: Who Is 666D Chessing Whose Interuniversal Go Sequences? - Anatoly Karlin, Unz Review, April 13, 2017
 * New Revelations Belie Trump Claims on Syria Chemical Attack - Gareth Porter Truthout, April 13 2017
 * Top Ten Ways to Tell When You're Being Spoofed by False-Flag Sarin Attacks, Denis O'Brien, April 13, 2017
 * The Syria Strikes: A Conspiracy Theory, James Corbett, April 14, 2017
 * Lebanese journalist intependently investigates alleged Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack - Adel Karim, The Duran, April 15, 2017
 * ''After studying film and pictures of the aftermath of the Khan Sheikhoun attack, an independent Lebanese journalist claims they show the attack was faked.
 * Dear Washington: the era of the false flag attack is now over - Ricky Twisdale, The Duran, April 16, 2017
 * ''What makes the false flag at Khan Shaykhun unlike previous false flags is the speed with which it was exposed – both on the internet using the alleged footage itself, and possibly for the first time, by other state parties (Russia and Syria) opposed to the agenda the perpetrators seek to advance.
 * Did Al Qaeda Fool the White House Again? - Robert Parry, Strategic Culture, April 16, 2017
 * Detailed analysis of US white paper on Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack - Alexander Mercouris, The Duran, April 18, 2017
 * This body language expert says Assad is telling truth about Syria chemical weapons, while McMasters is lying Alex Christoforou, The Duran, April 20, 2017
 * How did al-Qaeda know in advance about the Syrian air strike? - Paul Larudee, April 21, 2017

Alleged bomb location

 * Christiaan Triebert on Twitter:
 * Pentagon's location of impact crater linked to the Khan Sheykhoun chemical attack is the same as the one geolocated by @Bellingcat.

Whora Hora
The ACLOS earth digging and cataloging commissary Petri Krohn has decided to name the White Helmets cave hospital and the likely al-Nusra Front command center centrally shown in activists videos and not unlikely geolocated to the right as Whora Hora, after bin Laden's more famous cave hideout and hospital.

Timing
According to US military, as reported by BBC, US military radar systems monitored Syrian Air Force fixed-wing aircraft take off Shayrat and fly over Khan Sheikhoun on two occasions - at 06:37 local time (03:37 GMT) and 06:46, 4 April, 2017 (Zulu=UTC, Charlie = UTC+3). Low-res map and Syrian planes flight path at those times was published by multiple media sources, quoting Pentagon (reproduced on this page).

Attacks on two prior days were also alleged. Rex W. Tillerson, Secretary of State:
 * ''As you’re well aware, Bashar al-Assad has carried out chemical attacks this past week on civilians, including women and children, and carried out attacks earlier this – last month, March 25th and 30th, in Hama province as well. We have a very high level of confidence that the attacks were carried out by aircraft under the direction of the Bashar al-Assad regime, and we also have very high confidence that the attacks involved the use of sarin nerve gas. At least the past three attacks, we have fairly high – we have high confidence on that.