DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The United Nations says a third shipment of chemical weapons seized in Syria is headed to destruction aboard a Norwegian cargo vessel.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a non-governmental organization tasked with overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, welcomed the continued progress in dismantling the devastating bombs.
Syrian President Bashar Assad used the chemical weapons against civilians several times during his country's nearly 3-year-old civil war, prompting international outrage and the threat of force by the United States. U.S. President Barack Obama backed off the threat after a diplomatic solution brokered by Syrian ally Russia was found, with Assad agreeing to hand over the weapons.
