An American official says there is a “high probability” that Syria used a Chemical weapon to kill more than 2 dozen people in the town of Khan al-Asal in northern Aleppo province.  The Syrian government and its backers in Moscow are blaming the rebels.

Chairman Mike Rogers of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said, "We need that final verification, but given everything we know over the last year and a half, I would come to the conclusion that they are either positioned for use, and ready to do that, or in fact have been used."

The U.S. backs the rebels and President Obama has largely kept the U.S. out of the conflict.  But the White House has said that the use of chemical weapons would be a game changer.

The Bashar al-Assad government put the blame on the rebels and ’s biggest ally Russia agreed.

“This is an extremely alarming and dangerous development of events in the Syrian crisis,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry, which also stressed it is “seriously concerned” about the fact that WMD has fallen into the hands of the armed militia.

“This aggravates the situation in Syria and brings unfolding confrontation in this country to a new level.”

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating the attack.

Conflicting reports put the death toll at 25 to 31 lives lost.  One doctor said it appeared the victims had inhaled a Pesticide rather than a militarized chemical weapon.  Others described the smell of Chlorine.