Syria regime 'launches conscription campaign' amid fears of US-led strikes

The Syrian regime has reportedly launched a military conscription campaign amid concerns of possible US-led military action against Damascus in response to a suspected chemical attack.

Regime soldiers and intelligence officers have ramped up efforts to conscript troops as fears mount over an imminent retaliatory strike, sources told local Syrian opposition-aligned news website Zaman al-Wasl on Thursday.

"Groups of soldiers in regime-held territory started raiding homes on Wednesday, looking for men to forcibly conscript," the sources said.

"Some of the rounded up men are soldiers whose military service ended. They have even taken in some women and relatives of army defectors,"

"There is currently a state of alarm within the regime's military," they added.

Syrian law states that all men must complete 20 months of military service once they turn 18, a term that can be extended in wartime.

On Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces were emptying out the country's main airports and military air bases near Damascus over fears of a possible US missile strike.

US President Donald Trump has put off a final decision on military strikes against Syria after tweeting earlier that they could happen "very soon or not so soon at all."

The White House said on Thursday he would consult further with allies.

The US, France and Britain have been in extensive consultations about launching a military strike as early as the end of this week.

Tension has been mounting among top world powers over the alleged chemical attack in the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma last weekend that killed at least 40 people and injured 1,000 people.

The White House has said that Trump holds the Syrian regime and its military backers Russia responsible for the alleged attack on Douma.

Syria and Russia have denied carrying out the suspected chlorine gas attack and instead accused rebel groups of staging the incident to prompt Western military intervention.

Chemical weapons attacks have killed hundreds of people since the start of Syria's conflict, with the UN blaming four attacks on the Syrian regime and a fifth on the Islamic State group.