Syria warns of global 'chaos' if US launches air strikes

A senior Syrian official has said a US strike in Damascus could trigger chaos and threaten worldwide peace and security.

The comments were made by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad, who said that his country would defend itself against any international attack.

He said that Syria will not be an easy target as the U.S. and other countries ramp up rhetoric in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last week on a rebel-held neighborhood of the Syrian capital.

According to CBS News, Mikdad spoke as support for an international response was mounting if it is confirmed that President Bashar al-Assad's troops were responsible for the August 21 attack, which activists say killed hundreds.

President Barack Obama is moving toward a military strike against Syria, but any final decision has not yet been made.

Mikdad did not elaborate on how Syria might defend itself, but he said such an attack would trigger "chaos in the entire world."

He said he is 100 percent confident that neither the Syrian army nor anyone who is part of the Syrian government used chemical weapons, adding the Syrian regime will never use them against its own people, if it has them, the report added.