Syrian activists said at least 213 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday in a nerve gas attack by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on opposition-held districts of the Ghouta region east of Damascus.

The death toll was collated from medical centers in the region, Bayan Baker, a nurse at Douma Emergency Collection facility said. Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar and that those killed were in the hundreds.

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Free Syrian Army fighters carry their weapons as they walk towards the frontline in the refugee camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus.

Reuters