Syrian President Bashar Assad. Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ABr via Wikimedia Commons.

Reports indicate that the ruling Syrian regime of Bashar Assad has again used chemical weapons against a rebel-held area.

According to Reuters, Syrian rebels and a medical organization both reported an attack on the town of Douma. They claimed the attack employed chlorine gas and killed 35 people.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) also stated that the chlorine attack was followed by the use of nerve gas against civilians.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

Assad’s regime has been accused of using chemical weapons several times. In 2013, following a chemical attack, Syria claimed to have handed its entire chemical arsenal over to Russia to be destroyed. However, in 2014, 2015, and 2017 Assad was accused of employing chemical weapons against rebel-held areas.