WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. official says the United States has concluded that Russia knew in advance of Syria’s chemical weapons attack last week.
The official says a Russian-operated drone flew over a hospital in Syria as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment.
Hours after the drone left, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what American officials believe was an attempt to cover up the usage of chemical weapons.
Until Monday, U.S. officials had said they weren’t sure if the drone was operated by Russia or Syria. The senior official said it still wasn’t clear who was flying the jet that bombed the hospital.
The official said the presence of the drone couldn’t have been a coincidence, and that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment.
The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters and demanded anonymity.
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I trust the Russians will “reflect” on this per Tillerson’s instructions.
This might mean a little more if Russia didn’t also know in advance of the U.S. missile attack.
Maybe I’m not getting it, but after reading the information available in the article, I don’t see how this “official’s” conclusion follows from the information presented.
Russia was informed ofnthe missle strike because we inform each other to avoid conflicts. It’s much different if Russia knew about the chemical attack. That makes them an accessory to mass murder. Though so does the help they’ve been giving Assad before this. So what now? Cripes, how I wish Obama was still in charge!
but, ralph, this was an approved leak.