Assad Has Scattered Chemical Weapons throughout Syria: Report

The Assad regime has moved its chemical weapons to dozens of locations in the country to avoid detection, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In a separate report, a rebel leader said that Hezbollah, which has deployed thousands of its soldier in Syria to help the war against rebels, has gotten its hands on one ton of poison gas, banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

After being threatened with a military strike by the United States following last month’s deadly chemical attack, Assad has joined the Convention, another double-faced move, which with Russian support allows him keep the West at bay.

The Journal, citing American officials, said a secret military unit has been scattering the chemical weapons for as long as several months. Intelligence officials said they know where most of the weapons have been placed, but know “a lot less than…six months ago.”

Assad’s forces possess more than 1,000 tons of chemical and biological weapons, according to the newspaper report, but one senior U.S. official added, "There might be more.”

Syria has taken the position that it is now a legal member of the Chemical Weapons Convention. "Legally speaking Syria has become, starting today, a full member of the convention," Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told reporters in New York.