UN experts leave Syria as US edges toward strike

BEIRUT (AP) – The U.N. experts investigating last week’s alleged chemical weapons strike outside Damascus left Syria early Saturday and crossed into neighboring Lebanon, departing hours after President Barack Obama said he is weighing “limited and narrow” action against a Syrian regime that the administration has bluntly accused of launching the deadly attack.

An Associated Press crew saw the U.N. personnel enter Lebanon from Syria through the Masnaa border crossing and then drive in a 13-car convoy to the Beirut airport. After four days of on-site inspections, the team wrapped up its investigation Friday into the suspected chemical weapons attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus on Aug. 21. The experts take with them blood and urine samples from victims as well as soil samples from the affected areas for examination in laboratories in Europe.

The inspectors’ departure brings the looming confrontation between the U.S. and President Bashar Assad’s regime one step closer to coming to a head.

Obama has said that if he opts for a military strike, any operation would be limited in scope and only aimed at punishing Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons.