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

DAMASCUS: Syria said Saturday it has its "finger on the trigger" to repel any Western military strike after UN arms experts left the country, as Iran warned of a wider conflict.

The departure of the inspectors probing a suspected chemical attack blamed on the regime has opened a window for a possible US-led punitive strike.

"The Syrian army is fully ready, its finger on the trigger to face any challenge or scenario that they want to carry out," Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said.

And a security official, asking not to be named, told AFP that Syria was now "expecting an attack at any moment."

The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, warned that a US strike on Syria would trigger reactions beyond the borders of Tehran's key regional ally.

"The fact that the Americans believe that military intervention will be limited to within Syrian borders is an illusion," said commander Mohammad Ali Jafari.

"It will provoke reactions beyond that country," he said, quoted by the ISNA news agency.

"Just as US interventions in the Islamic world (Afghanistan, Iraq) have bolstered extremism, so will an aggression on Syria reinforce extremism."

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 they collected.

A German foreign ministry spokesman said they flew out of Beirut on a German-chartered plane headed for Rotterdam, near The Hague base of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

US President Barack Obama's administration says it already has firm evidence that the regime launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.

That brought a contemptuous response from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is a close ally of Syria, saying claims the regime had used chemical weapons were "utter nonsense" and demanding proof.

The US president said he was looking at a "wide range of options" but had ruled out "boots on the ground" or a "long-term campaign."

"We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act," Obama said, while stressing no final decision had been taken on unleashing military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Syria has denied responsibility for the alleged incident and has pointed the finger of blame at "terrorists" -- its term for rebels ranged against Assad's forces.

In Damascus, the mood was heavy with fear, and security forces were making preparations for possible air strikes, pulling soldiers back from potential targets.

Residents were seen stocking up with fuel for generators in case utilities are knocked out by a strike.

And as the inspectors crossed into Lebanon, they were followed by families desperate to flee.

Abu Malek, a 31-year-old factory worker from near Damascus, said people at home were terrified. "Those who can, leave. But many people can't," he told AFP after he crossed into Lebanon. (AFP)