Rescuers say toxic gas dropped on Syrian town where Russian helicopter shot down

A Syrian rescue service operatingin rebel-held territory said on Tuesday a helicopter droppedcontainers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where aRussian military helicopter was shot down hours earlier.

A spokesman for Syria Civil Defence told Reuters that 33people, mostly women and children, were affected by the gas inSaraqeb.

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The group, which describes itself as a neutral band ofsearch and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTubepurportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe andbeing given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms.

Syria Civil Defence workers, who went to the scene of theattack, said they suspected it was chlorine but could not verifythat.

"Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gasses. TheSyrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of thegas," said the spokesman.

The Syrian government and its Russian allies were notimmediately available for comment.

Both sides allege chemical attacks

Both government and opposition forces have denied usingchemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. Westernpowers say the government has been responsible for chlorine andother chemical attacks. The Syrian government and Russia haveaccused rebel forces of using poison gas.

Monitors at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saidbarrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, injuring a largenumber of citizens.

Russia's defence ministry said a Russian helicopter wasshot down near Saraqeb on Monday, killing all five people onboard, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life forRussian forces since they started operations in Syria.

The helicopter came down in Idlib province, roughly mid-waybetween Aleppo and the Russian air force base at Khmeimim, nearthe Mediterranean coast.

The Russian defence ministry said the Mi-8 militarytransport helicopter had been shot down after deliveringhumanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way backto Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia.

No group has claimed responsibility for shooting down thehelicopter.

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