Syria will pay heavy price for use of chemical weapons: US

Washington, April 12 : US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has said that Syria will pay a “very, very stiff price” if it used chemical weapons again and asserted that America’s top priority in Syria remained fighting the Islamic State militant group.
“If they use chemical weapons, they are going to pay a very, very stiff price,” Mattis told reporters during his first Pentagon briefing as defence chief.
Notwithstanding the Russian allegations that the US is selling a false narrative over the use of chemical weapons by the authoritarian Syrian regime, Mattis defended the American missile attacks against Syria last week.
“Last Tuesday on the 4th of April, the Syrian regime attacked its own people using chemical weapons. I have personally reviewed the intelligence, and there is no doubt the Syrian regime is responsible for the decision to attack and for the attack itself,” he said. “In response to the attack, our government began a deliberate process, led by the National Security Council, to recommend diplomatic and military options to the president. We met over several days and I spoke with some of our allies,” he added.