Al Qaeda vows 'Volcano of Revenge' over Syrian suspected gas attack: SITE

[Windsorlou]

Al Qaeda vows 'Volcano of Revenge' over Syrian suspected gas attack: SITE

U.N. chemical weapons experts inspect one of the sites of an alleged poison gas attack in the southwestern Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya August 26, 2013. REUTERS/Abo Alnour Alhaji

DUBAI | Wed Aug 28, 2013 3:16am EDT

(Reuters) - An al Qaeda affiliate threatened a "Volcano of Revenge" against Syrian government security and military targets in retaliation for a suspected poison attack near Damascus, the SITE Monitoring Group reported late on Tuesday.

A branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) said in a statement it would punish Syria for a series of massacres, including last week's alleged chemical weapons attack, after meeting eight Syrian factions.

"The meeting factions decided to carry out the "Volcano of Revenge" invasion in response to the regime's massacres against our people in Eastern Ghouta, the last of which was the chemical weapons massacre," SITE quoted the statement, dated August 26, as saying.

"They have decided to strike the main joints of the regime in imprisoned Damascus, including security branches, support and supply points, training centers, and infrastructure," it said.

The United States and its allies are gearing up for a probable military strike against Syria, believing that President Bashar al-Assad's forces carried out the worst chemical weapons attack since Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988.

Syria's government denies any role in the attack and blames rebels.

A team of U.N. inspectors is in Syria to investigate the affected sites.

(Writing by Yara Bayoumy, editing by Elizabeth Piper)