US ready to strike Syria –Defence Sec

President Obama

American forces are “ready” to launch strikes on Syria if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says.

“We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take,” Hagel told the BBC.

The White House said the US would release intelligence on last week’s suspected attack in the next few days.

The UK Parliament is to be recalled on Thursday to discuss possible responses.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the world could not stand idly by after seeing appalling scenes of death and suffering caused by suspected chemical weapons attacks.

The crisis follows last Wednesday’s suspected chemical attack near the Syrian capital, Damascus, which reportedly killed more than 300 people.

French President Francois Hollande said France was “ready to punish” whoever was behind the attack, and had decided to increase military support for Syria’s main opposition.

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says the US, UK and France will now have the larger task of building as wide a coalition as possible to support limited military action.

Meanwhile, the Arab League said it held Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responsible for the attacks and called for UN action.

Syrian opposition sources have said they have been told to expect a Western intervention in the conflict imminently.

“There is no precise timing but one can speak of an imminent international intervention against the regime. It’s a question of days and not weeks,” AFP news agency quoted Syrian National Coalition official Ahmad Ramadan as saying.

“There have been meetings between the Coalition, the [rebel] Free Syrian Army and allied countries during which possible targets have been discussed.”

Russia and China, allies of the Syrian government, have stepped up their warnings against military intervention, with Moscow saying any such action would have “catastrophic consequences” for the region.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he rejects “utterly and completely” claims that Syrian forces used chemical weapons, and his government has blamed rebel fighters.

On Monday, United Nations weapons inspectors were fired on while investigating one of the five alleged chemical weapons attack sites around Damascus.

Hagel said the US Department of Defence had provided President Obama with “all options for all contingencies”.

“He has seen them, we are prepared,” he told the BBC’s Jon Sopel, adding: “We are ready to go.”

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