Chemical weapons watchdog blames Syrian air force for Douma attack

FILE PHOTO: A national flag depicting a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad flutters at a checkpoint in Douma, in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, Syria March 10, 2021. Picture taken March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/File Photo

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The global chemical weapons watchdog on Friday said a nearly two-year investigation had found that at least one Syrian military helicopter had dropped gas cylinders on to residential buildings in the rebel-held Syrian city of Douma in 2018, killing 43 people.

The April 7, 2018, attack on the outskirts of Damascus was part of a major military offensive that returned the area to the control of forces under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after a prolonged Russian-backed siege against the rebel stronghold.