A victim of the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released unclassified American intelligence reports on the use of chemical weapons in Syria on Friday afternoon, the New York Times reported.

“Read for yourselves the evidence from thousands of sources,” Kerry said.

“This is the indiscriminate, inconceivable horror of chemical weapons. This is what Assad did to his own people,” he added.

The four-page intelligence report stated, “The United States Government assesses with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013.” The Syrian regime used “a nerve agent” in the attack, according to the report.

The report said 1,429 people were killed were killed in the chemical attack, including at least 426 children.

In a subsequent news conference at the White House, President Barack Obama said he has not yet made a decision about whether to attack Syria. He also reiterated that any attack would be brief, and would target the Syrian government’s ability to use chemical weapons.

“We’re not considering any open-ended commitment. We’re not considering any boots on the ground approach,” Obama said.