'WERE THOSE KIDS EVEN DEAD AT ALL?'
Assad says Sarin gas attack that killed 87 is a '100% fabrication' and accuses US of being 'hand-in-glove with terrorists'
Dictator has been accused by the US of carrying out last week's sarin attack
Holly Christodoulou
Sam Webb
Updated: 13 Apr 2017, 21:25
SYRIAN tyrant Bashar al Assad claimed a chemical attack on his country that killed more than 87 people is "100 per cent fabrication" as he accused the US of being "hand-in-glove" with terrorists.
The regime has been accused by the US of carrying out last week's sarin attack.
But in an exclusive interview with AFP, Assad said the atrocity was exaggerated to justify a US-led military strike and even questioned whether any kids died.
This photo allegedly shows a child following a suspected chemical attackCredit: AP:Associated Press
President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been accused of chemical attacks on civiliansCredit: Getty Images
Assad insisted it was "not clear" whether an attack on Khan Sheikhun happened at all.
And he even suggested the entire incident was "fabricated" and was "unconvincing".
"You have a lot of fake videos now," he said.
"We don't know whether those dead children were killed in Khan Sheikhun. Were they dead at all?"
He told the agency: "Definitely, 100 percent for us, it's fabrication... Our impression is that the West, mainly the United States, is hand-in-glove with the terrorists.
"They fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack."
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Assad said his military handed over all its chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013, adding: "There was no order to make any attack... We gave up our arsenal a few years ago.
"Even if we have them, we wouldn't use them."
The Russian backed tyrant also says a barrage of 59 US cruise missiles against an airbase after a suspected chemical attack had little effect.
A damaged cereals silo near houses in Idlib, after the Assad regime's suspected chemical attackCredit: Getty Images
'WERE THOSE CHILDREN ACTUALLY DEAD?
Images of the aftermath of the chemical attack, showing victims convulsing and foaming at the mouth, sent shockwaves around the world.
But Assad insisted it was "not clear whether it happened or not, because how can you verify a video?
"You have a lot of fake videos now."
"We don't know whether those dead children were killed in Khan Sheikhun.
"Were they dead at all?"
He said Khan Sheikhun had no strategic value and was not currently a battle front.
"This story is not convincing by any means," he added.
"Our firepower, our ability to attack the terrorists hasn't been affected by this strike," he said.
Assad told the news agency that he would only allow an "impartial" external investigation of last week's suspected chemical attack.
He said: "We can only allow any investigation when it's impartial, when we make sure that unbiased countries will participate in this delegation in order to make sure that they won't use it for politicised purposes."
Government ally Russia on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution demanding Syria cooperate with an international investigation of the attack.
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