Story highlights Sean Spicer blamed the Obama administration

John McCain blamed Trump

(CNN) White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that a gas attack in a rebel-controlled area of Syria was perpetrated by the forces tied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are a "consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution."

Multiple activist groups in Syria tell CNN that dozens of people, including children, were killed in one of the deadliest suspected gas attacks in years. The activists have also blamed the attack in the rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun on Assad.

A US intelligence official said the attack reportedly killed 58 people, including 11 children.

"The US government is working to ascertain the truth behind this incident, but it has the fingerprints of a regime attack," the official said. "If the Assad regime was indeed responsible for perpetrating this attack, the reported casualty figures would make it the biggest incident like this since the Syrian regime sarin attack in August 2013 against the Damascus suburbs."

Two US officials separately tell CNN that it appears the regime may have used sarin, but the testing to verify that is not complete. However, this early belief is based on the high casualty count and level of injuries.

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