Syria expects US-led military attack 'at any moment'

The departure of the UN inspectors has opened a window for a possible US-led strike

Syria expects a military attack "at any moment" and is ready to retaliate, an official said today, hours after UN experts probing a suspected gas attack blamed on the regime quit the country.

The departure of the inspectors has opened a window for a possible US-led strike after President Barack Obama yesterday gave his clearest indication yet that a military intervention was imminent.

"We are expecting an attack at any moment. We are ready to retaliate at any moment," the security official told AFP, asking not to be named.

The 13 UN inspectors, led by Ake Sellstrom, left their Damascus hotel in a convoy before dawn and crossed into Lebanon a few hours later, AFP reporters said.

They are due to report straight back to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and detail their conclusions on whether a poison gas attack actually did take place in Damascus suburbs on August 21, based on samples collected on site.

Obama's administration says it has no need to wait for the results of the probe, claiming its intelligence gives firm evidence the regime launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.