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A Syrian military
source denied the Observatory report and said the army did not
use barrel bombs - drums or cylinders packed with explosives and
shrapnel that cause indiscriminate destruction on the ground.
The United States fired cruise missiles at a Syrian air base
last week in response to a poison gas attack on a town in
northwestern Syria which Washington says was carried out by
government forces. The government denies responsibility.
The Observatory said "a number" of barrel bombs had been dropped
on the towns of Taybat al-Imam and Soran north of Hama city in
an area where rebel groups spearheaded by jihadist factions
launched a major offensive last month.
Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said the number of barrel
bombs dropped by government warplanes was relatively small. U.N.
investigators have recorded regular use of such bombs by
government forces in Syria.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday mentioned barrel
bombs alongside poison gas as weapons that were causing "babies
and children" to suffer. "If you gas a baby, if you put a barrel
bomb in to innocent people ... you will see a response from this
president," he said.
The Syrian military source said: "We do not use these barrels
and they do not exist in the Syrian Arab Army."
Army operations were continuing across Syria, and "will not
stop", the sources said.
(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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