Syrians report chlorine gas attack in Aleppo

Physicians and aid workers in Aleppo, Syria, claim to have treated civilian victims of a chlorine gas attack on a neighborhood controlled by insurgents. Medical workers said they treated about 70 people, including women and children, for breathing difficulties following Tuesday’s suspected dropping of chemical weapons, which has not been independently verified. A conventional weapons airstrike on the same neighborhood followed today. Opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have long fought his forces for control of Aleppo neighborhoods. The Syrian and Russian governments currently operate warplanes over that area of the country, and one of them is presumed to have carried out the strikes. The United Nations has confirmed chemical attacks in the past by the Assad regime, which was stripped of much of its chemical arsenal in 2013. But Syria retained its chlorine gas and is believed to have used it on civilians since then.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.