Syria could use chemical weapons if attacked

By Elizabeth Kennedy

Published July 23, 2012 4:00am ET

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Syria could use chemical weapons if attacked — In this image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Monday, July 23, 2012, Free Syrian Army soldiers react after destroying two military tanks during clashes with Syrian government troops in Aleppo, Syria. The Syrian regime acknowledged for the first time Monday that it possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and said it will only use them in case of a foreign attack and never internally against its own citizens. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL | Anonymous

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria threatened Monday to unleash its chemical and biological weapons if the country faces a foreign attack, a desperate warning from a regime that has failed to crush a powerful and strengthening rebellion.

The statement — Syria’s first-ever acknowledgement that the country possesses weapons of mass destruction — suggests President Bashar Assad will continue the fight to stay in power, regardless of the cost.

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