DAMASCUS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The rebels of the al-Qaida-linked groups and the so-called White Helmets are preparing to stage a chemical attack in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.
The official news agency said it cited sources in Idlib as confirming that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, as well as the White Helmets group are preparing to launch a chemical attack in Idlib to frame the Syrian army.
It said the groups have evicted the town of Jurjanas in the southern countryside of Idlib as a prelude to launching the attack in order "to justify a pretext for a U.S. aggression on Syria."
According to the sources of SANA, the rebels are planning to use chlorine gas in their anticipated attack.
The U.S. struck Syria over such pretext last year when the rebels in the formerly rebel-held Douma district east of Damascus accused the Syrian forces of using toxic gas in the attack against the city last April.
