At least 2 killed, dozens sickened by Syrian chlorine gas attack, doctors say

ALEPPO, Syria, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A chlorine gas attack allegedly carried out by the Syrian government in the contested city of Aleppo killed at least two people -- one a teenage girl -- and injured more than 100, medical personnel said Wednesday.

Doctors in the northern Syria city have been treating numerous civilians with injuries from the gas attack on Tuesday. Witnesses said chlorine barrel bombs were dropped by President Bashar Assad's warplanes.

Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer rescue group, said the chlorine bombs were dropped on Aleppo's civilian-populated al-Sukkari neighborhood -- which was full of women and children.

"Me and my children were all coughing and struggling to breathe after the attack took place," resident Mariam Khawaja said Tuesday.

Doctors in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, were still treating victims on Wednesday -- some in intensive care. Medical personnel said the attack sickened more than 120 people, including 10 women and 37 children.

One of the two dead, 13-year-old Hajer Kyali, had been in intensive care but died Wednesday afternoon. Officials said her house was directly hit by one of the barrel bombs.

Another barrel bomb attack in the same area was also carried out Wednesday, the SCD said. At least 20 people died in that attack, The New York Times reported.

Which side was behind Tuesday's chlorine attack remained unclear on Wednesday. Witnesses and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Assad's regime was responsible, while others have blamed rebel forces.

The Syrian government, however, has supposedly used chlorine gas in attacks before. A United Nations-led investigation earlier this summer concluded that Assad's regime used the chemical in attacks on at least two prior occasions.

Video: Syrian Civil Defense