Chemical security

Chemical weapons team ready to visit Syria if safety assured

The chief of the international chemical weapons watchdog says his team of experts is ready and willing to travel to the site of a deadly nerve gas attack in Syria if their safety can be assured.

Ahmet Uzumcu of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says the experts are "willing to go to Khan Sheikhoun" — the town where almost 90 people died this month — and that they've "undertaken some actions."

However, Uzumcu cautioned on Friday the area is controlled by opposition fighters and that a temporary ceasefire would be needed to assure his team's safety.

Uzumcu didn't call the April 4 incident a chemical weapons attack but said tests by his organization have established beyond doubt that sarin or a similar toxin was used.