Is Assad planning KAMIKAZE strikes on the West? Loyalist says 8,000 'suicide martyrs' are ready to bring down U.S. and British planes as Israelis scramble for gas masks over fears of all-out war

Army officer says Western forces will face 'hell fire' if they attack Syria

Says 'I myself am ready to blow myself up against U.S. aircraft carriers'

Assad says Syria would 'defend itself in the face of any aggression'

Thousands of Syrians flee as fears of war ripple across the Middle East

Israel and Turkey stock up on gas masks in case of attacks from Syria



Five million Israelis, around 60% of the population, now have gas masks

Iran chief says attack on Syria 'would lead to imminent destruction' of Israel



UN inspectors prepare to examine sites were chemical rockets struck

U.S. and Russia bolster navies as White House plans military response

Pope says dialogue is 'only option to end violence against the defenceless'



President Assad is considering using kamikaze pilots against Western forces, a Syrian army officer operating air defences near Damascus has claimed.

In the event of an attack by the U.S. and Britain, the Syrian army had 8,000 'suicide martyrs' who would give their lives to bring down warplanes if necessary, the unnamed officer said.

He said: 'If (US and British) warplanes raid our skies they will face hell fire.

'If we are unable to shoot down their warplanes with artillery, we have military pilots who are ready to attack these foreign warplanes by their own warplanes and blow them up in the air.'

The officer, whose claims could not be verified, spoke out as President Assad said today that Syria would 'defend itself in the face of any aggression' - fanning fears across the region of all-out war.

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Panic stations: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks with his children after collecting gas masks at a distribution point in Israel as fears grow that strikes by the U.S. and Britain on Syria could trigger all-out war Piled high: Thousands of Israelis have been queueing up for gas masks or ordered them by phone, spurred on by fears that any Western military response could ensnare their own country in war Braced for war: The Israeli postal service, which oversees gas mask distribution, said demand has tripled in recent days, meaning about five million Israelis, roughly 60 per cent of the population, now have them Getting in line: Israelis queue to collect gas masks at a centre in the Mediterranean coastal city of Haifa

The officer told The Guardian that 13 pilots had signed a pledge this week saying they would form 'a crew of suicide martyrs to foil the U.S. warplanes'.

He claimed: 'We have more than 8,000 suicide martyrs within the Syrian army, ready to carry out martyrdom operations at any moment to stop the Americans and the British.

'I myself am ready to blow myself up against U.S. aircraft carriers to stop them attacking Syria and its people.'

He said the morale of the Syrian army was high, adding: 'We are the resistance axe in the Arab world.'

In safe hands: An Italian soldier gives water to a rescued girl aboard the Foscari ship near Sicily after recovering almost 200 people from a crippled fishing boat who are believed to have fled the violence in Syria Desperate measures: Italy's coast guard and navy rescue about 350 people, mostly Syrians, off the coast of Sicily from a badly overcrowded and crippled fishing boat which they used to escape the civil war Traumatic: Among those rescued from the boat were 48 children, including a four-day-old girl born on the crossing

U.S. AND RUSSIA BEEF UP NAVAL PRESENCE NEAR SYRIA

Russia will send two ships to the east Mediterranean to strengthen its naval presence in response to the Syria crisis. The Interfax news agency quoted a source in the military's general staff as saying an anti-submarine vessel and a missile cruiser, above, would be sent in the coming days because the situation 'required us to make some adjustments' in the naval force.

The Defence Ministry was not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, U.S. officials say the Navy is beefing up its presence in the Persian Gulf region, increasing the number of aircraft carriers from one to two. The USS Harry S Truman has arrived in the Arabian Sea alongside USS Nimitz.

U.S. officials describe the decision as prudent planning and say it doesn't suggest the carrier would play a role in any possible strikes. France has reportedly also despatched an anti-aircraft frigate in the direction of Syria. The frigate Chevalier Paul left the port of Toulon in the south of France this morning, according to The Local , which cited French online news site Le Point. France said it was ready to commit forces to an operation in Syria, but defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stopped short of announcing military intervention.



State television today quoted Assad telling a delegation of Yemeni politicians: 'The threats of direct aggression against Syria will only increase our commitment to our deep-rooted principles and the independent will of our people.



'Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression.'

The speaker in the Damascus parliament also said today that attacking Syria would be illegal and would leave the blood of 'untold thousands' on the hands of British politicians.

In an open letter, Mohammad Jihad Allaham invited British MPs to come to Syria to see for themselves the evidence of the chemical weapons attack which the Government has blamed on Bashar Assad's regime.

The letter, to Commons Speaker John Bercow and MPs before the emergency debate and vote on Syria, warns that any 'aggressive and unprovoked act of war would be illegal' and that senior lawyers are being instructed to provide an opinion.

That raises the prospect of a legal battle should military action be taken.

MPs were warned that any attack on Syria could trigger a regional conflict, 'so we implore you to communicate through civilised dialogue rather than a monologue of blood and fire'.

Fears of a possible U.S. strike against Syria and the possibility of all-out war have rippled across the region.

Around 6,000 Syrians fled to neighbouring Lebanon in a 24-hour period and Israelis scrambled for gas masks in case Damascus retaliates against them.

Maya Avishai of the Israeli postal service, which oversees gas mask distribution, said demand has tripled in recent days.



About five million Israelis, roughly 60 per cent of the population, now have gas masks, she said.



Turkey is also on alert against possible chemical attacks from Syria and has stocked food and gas masks along their shared border.

The Turkish government's crisis management centre said on Twitter that officials had designated bunkers at seven areas along the border to protect the people in the area from harm.

'Ready to defend Syria in the face of any aggression': President Bashar al-Assad (centre) speaks during a meeting with the Yemeni delegation in Damascus

Escape from Assad: Syrian refugees use containers to collect water at the Arbat refugee camp in the northern Iraqi province of Sulaimaniya after fleeing the violence in their native country Syrian children stand outside their tent at a temporary refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Faour Conflict rages: Free Syrian Army soldiers help their wounded fellow fighter in Al Rasheddin, Aleppo Displaced: Chart shows the number of Syrian refugees who have fled to surrounding countries as of August 27 It also said a team of 100 chemical weapons experts were sent to the border area which was being screened for any signs of chemical attacks. Egypt's foreign minister Nabil Fahmysaid his country strongly opposes military action and would not support possible punitive strikes by the West. Romania has told its citizens in Syria to leave the country 'as soon as possible'. Meanwhile, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has pleaded for more time for diplomacy and to allow U.N. investigators to complete their work. Mobilising: Israeli soldiers patrol near an Armored Personal carrier near the border with Syria after the Israeli cabinet authorised a call-up of army reservists amid growing expectations of a foreign military strike on Assad Eyes on the skies: An 'Iron Dome' missile battery of the Israeli army in industrial area of Haifa On alert: A Patriot surface-to-air missile is positioned in the Mediterranean coastal city of Haifa north of Israel DIALOGUE IS THE ONLY OPTION WITH SYRIA, SAYS POPE FRANCIS

Pope Francis said today that dialogue was the 'only option' to end the conflict in Syria. The Pontiff and King Abdullah of Jordan agreed it was the right strategy for dealing with the crisis when they met in Rome, the Vatican said. The king, Queen Rania and the pope, above, spoke privately for 20 minutes in the Vatican's apostolic palace. The king and the pontiff 'reaffirmed that the path of dialogue and negotiations among all components of Syrian society, with the backing of the international community, is the only option to end the conflict and the violence that each day cause the loss of so many human lives, most of all among the defenceless population', the Vatican said in a statement. He says he will receive a report on Saturday from weapons inspectors investigating an apparent Syrian chemical attack. The chemical weapons team was preparing to start a third day of investigations into an apparent poison gas attack in the area. It is expected to hand a report to Ban on Saturday.

Activists said they had arrived in the eastern suburb of Douma and were going to examine the sites where activists say rockets loaded with chemical weapons struck. The team will also run more tests and interviews with the wounded, they said. Seven days after chemical weapons were purportedly unleashed on rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital, momentum grew toward Western military action against President Bashar Assad's regime. At the same time, Syria's chief allies, Russia and Iran, warned of dire consequences for the region if any armed intervention is undertaken. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has said his country will press efforts to ward off military action by the U.S. and its allies against the Tehran-backed regime of Assad. The remarks came during a phone conversation between Mr Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Rouhani was quoted as saying 'military action will bring great costs for the region' and 'it is necessary to apply all efforts to prevent it'. Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief, Mohammad Ali Jafari, also said today that an attack on Syria would lead to the 'imminent destruction' of Israel and would prove a 'second Vietnam' for America, according to an Iranian news agency. Perilous undertaking: U.N. chemical weapons experts prepare before collecting samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka Building a case: A U.N. chemical weapons expert carries a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack Hazardous: UN inspectors collect samples inside a house during their investigations at Zamalka, east of Damscus on Thursday Will the results trigger a war? United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he is expecting a report on the chemical weapons investigation on Saturday U.S. leaders, including Vice President Joe Biden, have charged that Assad's government was behind the August 21 attack that Doctors Without Borders says killed at least 355 people. The White House says it's planning a possible military response while seeking support from international partners. The U.S. has not presented concrete proof of Syrian regime involvement in the attack, and U.N. inspectors have not endorsed the allegations, although the U.N. envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said evidence suggests some kind of 'substance' was used that killed hundreds.



Gathering evidence: U.N. chemical weapons experts wearing gas masks carry samples from one of the sites of an alleged gas attack while escorted by Free Syrian Army fighters in the Ain Tarma district of Damascus

On the frontline: Members of a UN team of arms experts inspect the site where rockets fell in Damascus Delicate operation: A member of a UN investigation team takes samples of sands near a part of a missile believed to be one of the chemical rockets fired at civilians in Damascus last week, killing hundreds

CIVILIANS DYING BECAUSE AID AND MEDICINE IS 'BLOCKED BY ASSAD' Any escalation of the Syrian crisis following an apparent chemical weapons attack will worsen suffering of civilians that has already reached unprecedented levels, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said. There are acute shortages of vital medical supplies, food and water in a number of areas in Syria cut off from aid deliveries for months, according to the independent agency. The Geneva-based ICRC has tried to reach civilians trapped in the old city of Homs since early July, but says it has been blocked by Syrian government authorities. In a statement, it said: 'In large parts of rural Damascus, for example, people are dying because they lack medical supplies and there aren't enough medical personnel to attend them.' At least 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict that began in March 2011, and every day hundreds of people die or struggle with injuries, according to the ICRC.

With many seeing Western intervention no longer a question of if but when, there were signs of growing fears across the wider region.

At least 6,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon in a 24-hour period through the main Masnaa crossing, including an estimated 4,000 on Wednesday, according to Lebanese security officials in the country's Bekaa Valley near the border.

The normal daily influx is 500 to 1,000 refugees, depending on the level of fighting.



The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.



Long lines of packed cars - some with suitcases strapped to roofs - were backed up at the frontier post, witnesses said.



A security official said about 2,000 also crossed into Syria, but many of them said they were going in to evacuate relatives.

One woman, Um Ahmad, entered Lebanon with her five children, saying she fearing U.S. strikes on Damascus.

'Isn't it enough, all the violence and fighting that we already have in the country, now America wants to bomb us, too?' the 45-year-old said, declining to give her full name for security concerns.

Gearing up for war: A graphic looking at the options open to the West if it were to launch strikes on Syria Running gun battles: Free Syrian Army fighters run to take cover from snipers loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad near Aleppo International airport Carnage of war: A man holds a weapon as he walks past damaged buildings at a site hit by what activists say was a car bomb in Raqqa province, eastern Syria

A Sukhoi-22 fighter jet of the Syrian air force: An Assad loyalist claims 13 pilots had signed a pledge this week saying they would form 'a crew of suicide martyrs to foil the U.S. warplanes'

Nearly two million Syrians have fled the country since the crisis began in March 2011 and millions more are displaced inside Syria.

Effects were also evident in Israel, where large crowds lined up at gas-mask distribution centres.



Meanwhile, the Israeli government ordered a 'limited' call-up of reserve units to bolster civil defense preparations and to operate air-defense units near the border. Officials said the call-up is anticipated to bring in hundreds of troops.