ANKARA (AA) - The US Secretary of State John Kerry has revealed intelligence information on the chemical weapons attack in Syria and pointed in the direction of a likely military operation against the Syrian regime.
Kerry said at Friday's daily briefing that Syrian government was responsible for carrying out the attack on August 21, which he said killed 1,429 people.
He reiterated President Obama's words that a possible military operation in Syria would not involve "boots on the ground", would not be "open-ended", and would not "assume responsibility for the civil war that's already underway".
Syria chemical weapons issue was "directly related to our credibility," he said.
Kerry’s remarks indicate the US is determined to go ahead with a military strike against the Syrian government.
"What we choose to do - or not do - matters in real ways to our own security," he said. "Some cite the risk of doing things. We need to ask what is the risk of doing nothing."
He cautioned, however, that there was no "ultimate military solution", and said the US remains "deeply committed" to getting to the political table.
Kerry said the US intelligence committee has "high confidence" the evidence in hand was in keeping with common sense and facts, while the U.N. investigation would not “affirm” who used these chemical weapons and “can’t tell us anything we have not shared.”
Kerry said the US had intelligence that a senior regime official confirmed chemical weapons were used by the regime itself.
“We know where the rockets were launched from, and at what time. We know where they landed, and when,” he said. “We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas, and went only to opposition-controlled or contested neighborhoods."
He added that people in all eleven areas affected by the attack showed the same symptoms of exposure to chemical agents.
Simultaneously with Kerry's press conference, the US and the UK have published intelligence documents containing information from "thousands of sources" on the attack.
Kerry said some of the intelligence information would only be shared with the US Congress and would not be made publicly available.
US State Secretary words come as one of its key allies, the UK, announced it would not take part in a military operation, while another ally, France, reiterated its support.
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