Syria latest: Donald Trump warns 'nothing is off the table' for US response to alleged chemical attack

Donald Trump: The US President has warned 'nothing is off the table' for the US response to the alleged attack
AP

Donald Trump has warned “nothing is off the table” as he made clear that US military action was possible in response to an alleged poison gas attack in Syria.

The US President promised to decide whether or not to launch military reprisal against Bashar al-Assad’s regime within 48 hours, he said at a cabinet meeting earlier.

Asked if military action was a possibility, Mr Trump said: “Nothing is off the table… If it's Russia, if it's Syria, if it's Iran, if it's all of them together, we'll figure it out."

And asked at the meeting if Russian President Vladimir Putin bore any responsibility for the attack, Mr Trump responded: "He may, yeah, he may. And if he does it’s going to be very tough, very tough."

Attack: Image released by Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets shows a child receiving oxygen following an alleged poison gas attack in Douma
AP

It came as the US and Russia traded barbs at a UN Security Council meeting on the alleged attack.

Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow has warned the US of "grave repercussions" if the US takes the military option, adding that "there was no chemical weapons attack.”

Nikki Haley US Ambassador to the UN, told the council that Washington "will respond" to the alleged attack regardless of whether the United Nations Security Council acts or not.

Vassily Nebenzia addresses an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria
EPA

"We have reached the moment when the world must see justice done," she said.

Horrific images have been shared on social media showing a number of dead men, women and children, some with foam at the mouth, in buildings after the alleged attack in the rebel-held town of Douma in eastern Ghouta.

The Union of Medical Relief Organisations, a US-based charity that works with Syrian hospitals, told the BBC that the Damascus Rural Specialty Hospital had confirmed 70 deaths.

It came amid a resumed offensive by Syrian government forces in the area following the collapse of a truce.

Syrian state media denied government forces launched a chemical attack as reports emerged late on Saturday.

The UK has called for an urgent investigation.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called the reports "deeply disturbing", also criticising Russia for its involvement in the seven year long war.

Additional reporting from agencies.

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