The U.S. Treasury has announced sanctions against 271 employees of the Syrian government agency believed to be responsible for developing chemical weapons like those used in an attack on dozens of civilians in the country earlier this month.
"These 271 SSRC employees have expertise in chemistry and related disciplines and/or have worked in support of SSRC’s chemical weapons program since at least 2012," the Treasury said in a statement.
The attack on April 4 in the village of Khan Sheikhoun, Syria killed more than 80 people and prompted a U.S. missile strike on the air base linked to the attack.
"The United States is sending a strong message with this action that we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any actor and we intend to hold the Assad regime accountable for its unacceptable behavior," the statement from the Treasury said.
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