Investigators link Assad to chemical attacks

International investigators have for the first time linked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to the use of chemical weapons against rebel-held areas, Reuters has reported.

The joint inquiry for the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW], which previously only identified military units, has now produced a list of individuals connected to the attacks, according to an inquiry source quoted by the news agency.

The list, which has been seen Reuters, includes Bashar and Maher al-Assad, in addition to other high-ranking regime officials.

The explosive revelation is the first time senior regime officials have been named in connection with chemical attacks, and indicate that the decision to use internationally prohibited weapons came from the top.

The Syrian regime has repeatedly denied the use of toxic weapons, blaming rebels and the Islamic State group for the attacks.

Virginia Gamba, the head of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, which is charged with the inquiry into chemical weapons use in Syria denied any list of individual suspects had yet been compiled.

"There are no ... identification of individuals being considered at this time," she told Reuters.

However, the United States on Thursday sanctioned 19 senior Syrian officials over their connections to the use of chemical weapons, indicating that a preliminary list of officials responsible for attacks does exist.

An investigation conducted by the Joint Investigative Mechanism concluded in an October report that Syria's government had used chemical weapons in at least three attacks in 2014-2015.