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		</div><p>An international team has said the Syrian government carried out a third chemical attack in the war-torn nation, according to a report.</p>
<p>In August, the team from the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog blamed President Bashar Assad&#8217;s government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and so-called &#8216;Islamic State&#8217; fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.</p>
<p>The team said at that time that three other attacks indicated possible government involvement.</p>
<p>In a report sent to the UN Security Council late last night and seen by The Associated Press, the team said there was &#8220;sufficient evidence&#8221; to conclude that Syrian forces were responsible for one of the attacks in Qmenas, in Idlib governorate, on March 16 last year.</p>
<p>It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, &#8220;hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population&#8221;.</p>
<p>Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.</p>
<p>The team concluded, however, that there was not enough evidence to determine responsibility for the two other attacks.</p>
<p>The experts said they could not confirm the use of barrel bombs in Kfar Zita in Hama governorate on April 18 2014, because the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed and could not be linked with certainty to the location.<br />
They said additional witnesses corroborated that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish in Idlib governorate on March 24, 2015.</p>
<p>But they said the exact time and location could not be established and the canister could not be linked to any of the incident locations.</p>
<p>The panel said &#8220;it is crucial to hold those who use or intend to use chemicals as weapons accountable for their acts, as it is fundamental to deter all those who continue to believe that there is something to be gained in the use of toxic chemicals as weapons&#8221;.</p>
<p>The United States, Britain and France want the security council to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons.</p>
<p>But Russia, Syria&#8217;s closest ally, said the evidence presented in the August report was not conclusive and Russia&#8217;s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin indicated that Moscow will oppose any sanctions.</p>
<p>The security council is expected to discuss the report next Thursday.</p>
<p>A year ago, the council established the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism &#8211; JIM &#8211; to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.</p>
<p>JIM investigated nine cases in seven towns where an OPCW fact-finding mission found that chemical weapons had probably been used.</p>
<p>According to the August report, JIM found the Syrian government responsible for two chlorine attacks in Idlib governorate &#8211; one in Talmenes on April 21 2014, and one in Sarmin on March 16 2015.</p>
<p>It also said the Islamic State group was &#8220;the only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulfur mustard&#8221; gas in Marea in Aleppo governorate near the Turkish border on August 21 2015. At the time, &#8216;IS&#8217; fighters were attacking rebels.</p>
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