Assad To Destroy Chemical Weapons 'In A Year'

Syrian leader Bashar al Assad says he is committed to destroying his stockpile of chemical arms - but warned it would take a year to do so.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Assad said he was committed to getting rid of the arsenal but conceded it would cost at least £600m ($1bn).

He also insisted that his decision to destroy the weapons was not forced upon him by the threat of US strikes.

And he said that a UN report that found "clear and convincing evidence" of a sarin nerve gas attack in Syria last month is "unrealistic" and denied responsibility.

Mr Assad denied responsibility for the gas attack (pic: Fox News)

During an interview with the US crew at the presidential palace in Damascus, Mr Assad said destroying the weapons was "a very complicated operation, technically".

"And it needs a lot of money, about a billion," he continued.

"So it depends, you have to ask the experts what they mean by quickly. It has a certain schedule.

"It needs a year, or maybe a little bit more."

Mr Assad also used the one-hour interview to criticise the American stance in the Syrian crisis.

He said that, unlike the Russians, Washington had tried to get involved in Syria's leadership and governance.

Mr Assad's comments came after a senior Russian diplomat said Damascus would stick to its commitment to eliminate its chemical weapons by mid-2014.

After talks in Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said President Assad was "very serious" about the disarmament plan.

Mr Ryabkov also said that Syrian officials had shown him "material evidence" implicating rebels in the sarin attack.

And the Russian diplomat criticised the United Nations for being "one-sided" in its recent report on the attack.

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Egyptian Security Forces In Cairo Gun Battle

Egyptian security forces exchange gunfire with armed groups on the outskirts of Cairo, according to state television.

Troops stormed into the Kerdash district to arrest people accused of torching police station and killing 11 security officers during clashes that followed the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi last July.

More follows...

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Gunman Aaron Alexis Had PTSD After 9/11

US Deadliest Shootings

Updated: 10:49pm UK, Monday 16 September 2013

The shooting at the Washington navy yard has been described by Barack Obama as "yet another mass shooting". It is part of a grim list in modern US history.

:: Sandy Hook, Connecticut, December 14, 2012:

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother before opening fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults. He then turned the gun on himself.

It is the worst school shooting in America's history and second only to the Virginia Tech massacre in terms of the country's deadliest ever attacks.

Both attacks make up a grim history of mass murders using firearms in the US.

:: Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012:

A masked gunman burst in on the Century 16 cinema during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises throwing tear gas before opening fire.

He killed 12 and injured 58. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is the sole suspect and was arrested at the scene. He will appear in court in January.

:: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas, November 5, 2009:

A 42-year-old US Army Major, serving as a psychiatrist, opened fire inside the US military base killing 13 and wounding 29 in an attack deemed an act of terrorism. Hasan was shot and captured and is paralysed from the waist down.

Before the killing he had been in touch with the late al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki to ask whether he would be considered a martyr if he died shooting US soldiers.

:: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007:

Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 and injured 17 in America's deadliest shooting. He launched two separate attacks at the campus two hours apart before killing himself.

Cho had a history of mental illness and was in therapy through his school years.

:: Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006:

Charles Carl Roberts shot dead five and injured five in an attack at an Amish school. The 32-year-old dish washer at a local restaurant then killed himself.

He was driven by anger at God over the death of his premature daughter.

:: Red Lake Indian Reservation, March 21, 2005:

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion before opening fire at Red Lake High School. He killed nine and injured seven, then took his own life.

He blamed years of school bullying for the attack.

:: Forth Worth, Sept 25, 1999:

Unemployed white supremacist Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on the congregation of Wedgwood Baptist Church, killing seven and wounding seven. He then turned the gun on himself.

Ashbrook, 47, was a member of a group that advocated killing minorities.

:: Atlanta, July 29, 1999:

Mark Orrin Barton, a trader, opened fire in two investment offices killing nine and wounding 12. He killed himself after a six-hour police manhunt.

The 44-year-old had been upset by big financial losses.

:: Columbine High School, Colorado, April 20, 1999:

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on schoolmates after bombs they had planted in the cafeteria failed to go off. They killed 13 and injured 21 before killing themselves.

The students were motivated by their anger at society. Harris had a history of depression.

:: McDonald's, San Ysidro, California, July 18 1984:

Welder James Huberty walked into a McDonald's and opened fire killing 21 people and wounding 19 before being shot by a police sniper.

The 51-year-old thought society was about to collapse. When asked where he was going as he left the house for the killing, he told his wife: "hunting humans".

:: University of Texas, Austin, August 1, 1966:

Engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, opened fire on students from the 28th floor of the main campus building. He killed 13 and wounded 32 before being shot dead by a police marksman. He also killed his wife and mother.

In a note he said he was suffering irrational thoughts and wanted to relieve his wife and mother from suffering but offered no explanation for the university attack.

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Syria: Chemical Weapons Were Used, UN Says

A report which provides "clear and convincing evidence" that chemical weapons were used in Syria makes for "chilling reading", the UN Secretary-General has said.

Ban Ki-moon said the evidence published by UN weapons inspectors was "overwhelming and indisputable".

He described the attack in Damascus on August 21, in which the US believes more than 1,400 people were killed, as a "war crime and a grave violation ... of international law".

In their 38-page report, the inspectors said chemical weapons had been used on a "relatively large scale".

Rockets tested at the attack site were found to contain sarin, while the area in which they landed was contaminated with the deadly gas.

UN chemical weapons inspectors collected samples in Damascus

Blood and urine samples taken from patients injured in the attack tested positive for the nerve agent, while survivors said they had experienced symptoms including loss of consciousness, shortness of breath and blurred vision, all of which are consistent with intoxication.

The inspectors said the findings had left them with the "deepest concern".

The report does not blame forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad or opposition fighters for the attack.

However, photographs taken by the inspectors appeared to show possible Cyrllic, or Russian, engravings on one of the rocket casings.

Russia is a close ally of Syria and strongly opposed threatened US air strikes against the Assad regime.

Fierce fighting has left towns and cities across Syria in ruins

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "It doesn't prove Mr Assad's army had (the weapons) because so many were looted by the opposition.

"Nevertheless, many experts will say much of the evidence points to (the involvement of) Mr Assad."

Both the UK and the US claimed the evidence presented by the UN proved the Syrian government was behind the attack.

Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador to the UN, said there was "no remaining doubt" the Assad regime was responsible.

White House spokesman Jay Carney added: "The information ... that the sarin agent was delivered on surface-to-surface rockets that only the Assad regime has makes clear the responsibility."

William Hague, Lauren Fabius and John Kerry in Paris

Earlier, British Foreign Secretary William Hague met his French counterpart Lauren Fabius and US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the Syrian chemical weapons handover hammered out by the US and Russia.

Speaking after the UN published its findings, he said: "We're hopeful but very mindful of all the difficulties of identifying and securing probably the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the world in a country that is a contested battlefield.

"However, this report illustrates the very pressing need to do so."

Meanwhile, Mr Kerry warned Mr Assad the allies would "not tolerate anything less than full compliance" with the agreement.

They want the agreed framework to be put into a "strong and binding" UN resolution, under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which can authorise both the use of force and non-military action.

However, Russia believes a military option should only be on the table in the event of non-compliance from Syria.

:: Read the UN inspectors' 38-page report in full

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