Chemical weapons watchdog: Further progress made in Syria

The Organisation for Prohibtion of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, Thursday announced that its inspectors have verified 22 of the 23 sites in Syria. The additional site inspected was in the region of Aleppo and was one of the two sites that could not be visited earlier due to safety and security reasons, said the international watchdog in a statement at The Hague. "The verification was conducted with the support of sealed cameras used by Syrian personnel as per the inspection team's guidance. The exact geographical location and the time of capture of the footage/images were fully authenticated," it stated. "As per the declaration by Syria, the site was confirmed as dismantled and long abandoned with the building showing extensive battle damage," added the statement.