Syrian chemical attack: What is the deadly sarin and what does it do?

Sarin has been the calling card of despots, like the late Saddam Hussein

Syria, already torn by years of battle, on Tuesday saw yet another atrocity, one which has echoed internationally, when government forces launched a suspected chemical attack in the Idlib province of the country. The weapons used was likely to be sarin, a lethal nerve agent.  

A day after the attack, which has taken the lives of more than 80 people so far, the World Health Organization (WHO) said some of the victims of the attack had symptoms consistent with exposure to a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents. (Read more) Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has been accused