The details about the VIPS/Ray McGovern statement on the August 21st 2013 Sarin attacks which caused a stir at the time is very interesting, tells you a lot about how they operate.
statecrime.org/data/2018/07/N… Ray McGovern is clearly an absolute bullshitter.

Thread - So the Russian MoD is claiming there's something dodgy about the lighting in the videos, but it's just misinterpreting the shadows and objects. I'll explain how. 1/ The Russian MoD uses the following images to claim the white part of the cabin on the top right shouldn't be visible in shadows. In the second image we see the white part of the top of the cabin turn black when it enters the shadow, but the top right part doesn't 2/

OP#37: All the World is Staged: An Analysis of Social Media Influence Operations against US Counterproliferation Efforts in Syria nonproliferation.org/op37-all-the-w… Interesting findings about online influence efforts apparently by the Russian Federation following the April 7th 2018 Douma chlorine attack in the new James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies report

The remains of the chlorine IRAMs used by pro-government forces in chemical attacks against Douma on January 22 and February 1 2018 according to the new @UNCoISyria report were well documented by @STJ_SYRIA_ENG as part of a joint report with @Bellingcat bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018… The Saraqib February 4 2018 chlorine attack was executed by pro-government forces, according to the new @UNCoISyria report. It's worth noting the modified gas cylinders used in that attack have many similarities with those used in the April Douma attack bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018…

According to @mod_russia we can expect to see staged footage of a chlorine attack in Jisr al-Shugur published on social media by the end of the day. Let's see if that very specific prediction comes true, or they're just lying, as usual. Only last week this notorious Aleppo MP and war crime denialist was telling us all about his sources in Jisr al-Shugur and their claims there would be a false flag chemical attack on Friday. That didn't happen either.

https://twitter.com/ShehabiFares/status/1037466915374026753

Aircraft spotters working with Hala Systems spotted
multiple Hips from the Vehicles School helicopter base in Hama. Hips
were sighted by different spotters on a route towards Haas underground
hospital after that, then around the area Haas hospital is in just
before it was bombed. A useful video from Idlib Media Center, giving a detailed look at the entrance area and how badly damaged it was. Some will (and already are) claiming it was an Al-Qaeda bunker or something. Looks like a hospital to me.

With new claims from @mod_russia about false flag chemical attacks being prepared by opposition groups in Idlib, it's worth remembering this similar claim from March where they claimed the same thing about Deraa. CW attacks reported in Deraa? None.
rt.com/news/421589-us… A month earlier @mod_Russia claimed they had received a detailed tip off about another false flag chlorine attack being prepared in Saraqib, Idlib. Again, no such attack took place.
rt.com/news/418649-al…

Five years since the August 21st 2013 Sarin attacks in Damascus. Here's the first blog post I did on it back when I was still writing the Brown Moses Blog. brown-moses.blogspot.com/2013/08/are-th… Going back through the old posts from the time of the August 21st Sarin attacks it's interesting to see the parallels between how people argued that the opposition was responsible then and how they argued the same thing for the Khan Sheikhuoun 2017 attack and Douma 2018 attack.

I've been looking into the Spring 2017 Sarin attacks in Syria for a report I'm working on, in particular the March 24th 2017 Sarin attack in Al-Lataminah. The OPCW-FFM confirmed the Sarin used there was the same used in Khan Sheikhoun, ie from the Syrian government's process. 1/ The two Al-Lataminah Sarin attacks in March 2017 are particularly interest in the context of the Khan Sheikhoun attack & claims it was some how staged, because remains of the same type of bomb used in Khan Sheikhoun was found in Al-Lataminah, along with the same type of Sarin 2/

Little thread for Sunday, I decided to see if I could figure out exactly when this mass grave in Raqqa appeared on satellite imagery, which may allow it to be linked to a specific incident

https://twitter.com/HassounMazen/status/1023535792348643328

First thing, check higher resolution imagery from Digital Globe and Google Earth and Terraserver, which clearly shows the mass grave appeared after Feb 3rd 2017 and before May 24th 2017. Unfortunately there's no images in between those dates.

One group at the Bellingcat workshop is currently working to geolocate this video, apparently Cameroonian soldiers executing women and children. We think it's close to 10.933333, 13.733333 We can see on one side of the road there's a number of small buildings, and hills/mountains in the distance.

Thread - Just spent a great week running a @bellingcat workshop, as usual we ended with two days of participant led investigations, including the investigation of this video claiming to show US strikes on Syria back in April There’s a number of details visible, most obvious being the large pylon and partly finished roof top.

THREAD - The @nytimes has put together a brilliant investigation on the Douma chemical attack the @OPCW is expected to report on tomorrow, essential viewing ahead of the report. nytimes.com/interactive/20… I've also put together my own examination of the most recent OPCW FFM report about an earlier chlorine attack, and what we might learn from tomorrow's report based on details from that earlier chlorine attack bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018…

Thread - The OPCW FFM finds chlorine was likely used in Saraqib, Idlib, in February. It should be noted the FFM exists to establish whether or not chemical weapons were used, not to place blame. opcw.org/news/article/o… The full OPCW FFM report explains the basis for its conclusion that chlorine was used in Saraqib, Idlib, in February
opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW…

Thread - If we take the Russian claims about the Douma chemical attack at face value it means the following - 1 - Within a couple of hours of the attack a building had been filled with dead bodies, including babies, showing signs of chlorine exposure to fake the impact site.

A little thread on some of the more popular war crime denialism memes that have being doing the rounds after the Douma Chemical Attack. Yes, this is the world we live in. Images from the set of a film about a western journalist who travels to Syria and helps fake war crimes are repurposed by war crime denialists claiming it’s the White Helmets faking footage of war crimes: bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018…

There's been a lot of discussion about what to do about Russia following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, and potential financial sanctions and legislative change. One thing we've looked at a lot at @Bellingcat is Scottish Limited Partnerships 1/ Last Summer @bellingcat published a report with @TransparencyUK on Scottish Limited Partnerships, and how they're used and abused. 2/ bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…

Thread - New report from @syrian_archive, @STJ_SYRIA_ENG, and @bellingcat focused on 4 recent attacks on medical facilities in Idlib in late January and early February. syrianarchive.org/en/investigati… The first bombing examined occured in Kafranbel, targeting the surgical (Orient) Hospital. The moment of bombing was caught on camera.
syrianarchive.org/en/investigati…

OPCW tests link Syrian government Sarin to the August 21st 2013 attacks in Damascus, and the Khan al Assal attacks. The Syrian government has denied losing control of their chemical weapons stockpile. af.reuters.com/article/worldN… As I wrote in November last year, OPCW reports on the 2017 Sarin attacks showed the chemical markers the OPCW used to connect the Sarin used to the Syrian government were also detected in sales from August 21st 2013 bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017…

A thread on the new Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic report, which concludes Syria used Sarin 1/ The @UNCoISyria report includes a narrative of events, beginning with the take off of two Syria SU-22s from Shayrat airbase 2/