Geneva, Rajab 8, 1438, Apr 5, 2017, SPA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is alarmed by serious reports of the use of highly toxic chemicals in an attack in Khan Shaykhun, southern rural Idleb, Syria. According to Health Cluster partners on the ground treating the patients, at least 70 people have died and hundreds more have been affected. Doctors in Idleb are reporting that dozens of patients suffering from breathing difficulties and suffocation have been admitted to hospitals in the governorate for urgent medical attention, many of them women and children. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the WHO stressed that "the images and reports coming from Idleb today leave me shocked, saddened and outraged. These types of weapons are banned by international law because they represent an intolerable barbarism," said Dr Peter Salama, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme." --SPA 20:40 LOCAL TIME 17:40 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w370184