A senior US official claimed that military and intelligence operatives had intercepted communications between the Syrian military and chemical experts discussing preparations for last week's chemical-weapons attack in Syria, according to a CNN report Wednesday.
The intelligence was part of a larger collection of information that was reviewed shortly after the attack, which killed at least 83 people in the northwest city of Idlib.
The official also mentioned that because of the substantial amount of intelligence gathered from the region, the US could not have examined all of the data before the attack.
None of the intercepted communications confirmed Russian involvement, the official told CNN. The person added, however, that Russia was most likely more careful in its communications. Russian jets, which may have been purchased by Syrian forces, were reportedly used to drop ordnance that contained chemical agents. Further, a Russian-made drone was also reported to have been identified in the area, circling potential targets for a follow-up assault that hit a hospital.
US officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have said there is "no doubt" of the Syrian government's involvement. Turkish officials confirmed that Syria was still in possession of chemical weapons and that autopsies on the victims of last week's attack showed traces of sarin gas, despite Russia's assertions that Syria's chemical-weapons capabilities had been destroyed in 2013.
"We know they have the expertise. And we suspect that they have help," a US military official said on Saturday.
To date, both Russia and Syria have denied involvement in the attack.
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