United Nations/Damascus, Oct 16

UN-appointed chemical arms inspectors have verified 11 chemical weapons sites in Syria even as a blast killed 20 people in the southern part of the strife-torn nation Wednesday

Experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN have conducted inspections at 11 facilities in Syria, the OPCW said in a press release transmitted to ITAR-TASS Wednesday.

The OPCW mission has conducted inspections at 11 facilities which were listed in the reports produced by Syria, the release stated. 

The OPCW also noted that equipment was destroyed at six facilities and a batch of ammunition with poisonous agents belonging to category 3 (defused ammunition) was destroyed.

The OPCW Executive Council had approved the plan to destroy chemical weapons in Syria last month and was supported by UN Security Council Resolution number 2118.

The first group of OPCW experts began inspections in Syria Oct 1, 2013. 

The plan envisages completing the destruction of the producing equipment at Syrian facilities by Nov 1 and destroying all chemical weapons stocks in Syria by the middle of the next year.

The OPCW had Tuesday said that its joint advance team with the UN had been reinforced with a second group of OPCW inspectors and more UN support staff, bringing the total strength of the joint team to 60.

It said the advance team had made "good progress" in verifying the information submitted by the Syrian government on its chemical weapon programme, according to a Xinhua report.

"At the end of the first 10 days of operations on the ground, the verification teams have inspected three sites and plans are underway for further site visits," the statement added.

It said the team had also overseen the destruction by Syria of some of its munition stockpile as well as some of its chemical weapon production equipment.

The first group of chemical experts started their ground work Oct 6.

Meanwhile, about 20 people were killed and more than 15 others wounded Wednesday in a blast that struck a town in southern Syria, activists said.

The blast rocked the town of Nawa in the southern province of Daraa, Xinhua reported citing the activists' Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

No further details regarding the explosion were disclosed and the state media has not commented on it.

The intensifying blasts and mortar attacks in Syria coincided with the advent of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

By:IANS