The most senior British officer in the fight against Islamic State rejected Russian claims on Monday that Britain and the United States were about to stage a chemical attack in Syria.
Maj. Gen. Felix Gedney, the deputy commander of the international military force to defeat Islamic State, dismissed as "absolutely ridiculous propaganda" suggestions that Britain and the U.S. were preparing to launch chlorine-loaded missiles, The Telegraph reported.
"The U.K. is a proud coalition member with a proven track record [of defeating ISIS]," Gedney said in a tweet. "All [coalition] members condemn the use of chemical weapons."
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said American cruise missile ships working in conjunction with "British secret services" will target the settlement of Kafr Zayta, to the south of Idlib, "as a pretext for missile strikes by the West and the United States."
Konashenkov said the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria had been told "English-speaking" foreign experts had arrived in the Hbit settlement, in the south of the Idlib de-escalation zone, to stage a "major provocation" using chemical weapons early this week using chlorine-loaded missiles, according to The Telegraph.
"The strike on the settlement of Kafr Zayta from rocket launchers using poisonous substances is planned in the next two days," he said over the weekend, citing reports that terrorist groups had prepared eight containers of chlorine.
Konashenkov also suggested an attack was imminent, noting the presence of a U.S. air force bomber in Qatar and that the USS Ross, a guided-missile destroyer, had entered the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 25 armed with 28 Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting any target in Syria.
He further claimed a "special group of terrorists" had been trained by a British private security firm to simulate a rescue operation for locals "allegedly hurt in the chemical attack."
They will reportedly be "clad in the outfits of the notorious White Helmets group," he said.
Earlier this week, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned against any use of chemical or biological weapons in Idlib.
"We want to be unmistakably clear to Assad that we expect there will be no use of chemical weapons or biological weapons if there are any additional military hostilities in Idlib," he said.
The White Helmets, a volunteer civil defense force, is routinely accused by Russia of being Western agents as their rescue work is partially funded by Britain and the U.S.
In late July, the IDF extracted some 800 White Helmets members and their families from Syria, evacuating them to Jordan from southwest Syria. The unprecedented operation was carried out at the request of the United States and some of Israel's European allies.
Britain hailed the evacuation, saying it and other allies had requested it.
