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CARL AZUZ, cnn 10 ANCHOR: Was there an illegal chemical weapons attack in Syria over the weekend? And what could that lead to in the war-torn Middle Eastern country?
These are the questions we're exploring first today on cnn 10. I'm Carl Azuz.
The civil war in Syria started in 2011. It involves different rebel groups fighting the Syrian government. There are also terrorist groups involved.
But one reason why it's gotten so much international attention is because it's turned into a proxy war, with countries outside of Syria supporting different groups inside of Syria. The U.S., for instance, is battling the ISIS terrorist forces in Syria and it's supported certain rebel groups in the past. Russia and Iran are also involved. They've been supporting Syria's current government and neighboring Israel, whose official stance on the war is neutral, has acknowledged attacking some Syrian military targets.
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday to talk about a suspected chemical attack that happened on Saturday. Syrian activist groups say helicopters dropped bombs containing a toxic gas on a rebel-held city named Douma. They say dozens of civilians were killed in the attack and they provided graphic video footage of victims.
cnn couldn't verify whether the video is authentic. The Syrian government and Russia say it's not but what happens next is anyone's guess.
FRED PLEITGEN, cnn SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On April 7th, 2018, there was an alleged chemical attack in the rebel enclave called Douma, just outside of Damascus. The opposition blames Syria government forces for it. Now, the Syrian government denies the allegations, saying that they were fabricated. All of this has big international consequences as well.
The United States came up with a strong statement. President Trump laying the blame on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and also holding Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable as well. The big question is, what is going to happen next?
Certainly, the U.S. has said that no options are off the table. So, this is something that could include potential cruise missile strikes, potential airstrikes. But, of course, the United States also has to factor in the fact that the dominant power here on the ground in Syria is still the Russians.
The Russians are also issuing a stern warning towards the United States, saying that any sort of intervention on the part of the U.S. could have what they call very grave consequences.
One of the things that has happened is that there were missile strikes on the Syrian military base in the center of the country around Homs. The Russians are saying that they believe the Israelis were behind those strikes. The Syrian government is also holding Israel responsible and says that several people were killed there.
SUBTITLE: Israeli officials have not issued any response to reports of the strike.
PLEITGEN: So, right now, you have a situation on the ground here in Syria where certainly all the players are very nervous. All the players are very close to one another and all the players are very much at odds with one another, which is really something that could make it potentially very, very dangerous, not just for escalation on the ground in the Syrian civil war, but also for the outside powers to come into conflict with one another.
