Summary Snipers opened fire on a convoy of UN experts investigating suspected chemical weapons.
DAMASCUS (BBC) - Unidentified snipers have opened fire on a convoy of UN experts investigating suspected chemical weapons attacks in Syria s capital, the UN has said.
One car was shot at "multiple times", forcing the convoy to turn back.
Syrian state media blamed opposition "terrorists" for the attack, though the claim could not be verified.
The UN team later resumed its mission, entering the western district of Muadhamiya to gather evidence, before returning to central Damascus.
Hundreds died in alleged attacks on Wednesday in five districts near Damascus.
The US said there was little doubt that Syrian forces used chemical weapons in the attacks, which reportedly killed more than 300 people in rebel-held areas.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed the accusation as "an insult to common sense" and warned the US against military intervention.
"If someone is dreaming of making Syria a puppet of the West, then this will not happen," he told the Russian newspaper Izvestiya.
Intimidation
The 20-member UN inspection team has been in Syria since 18 August to look into three earlier suspected chemical attacks. They were given permission on Sunday to examine the Damascus locations.
The UN inspectors have been talking to doctors in Muadhamiya
The experts intend to take soil, blood, urine and tissue samples for laboratory testing but they are unlikely to apportion blame for any of the attacks.
Video footage posted online appears to show UN inspectors in Muadhamiya taking samples and talking to residents.
They went to a Red Crescent centre and spoke to doctors, opposition activists said.
On the video, which the BBC has not been able to fully authenticate, one resident is heard telling an inspector of heavy raids on the district, with "over 600 canister strikes...12 tanks, 100 soldiers".
Shortly after setting out from their hotel in Damascus, the inspectors cars came under fire "multiple times by unidentified snipers", according to a statement from the UN.
Whitehall officials say no firm decision is likely to be taken on how Britain will respond to last week s alleged chemical attack in Syria until at least Wednesday.
That is when UK PM David Cameron will be chairing a session of the National Security Council, attended by military and intelligence chiefs and senior ministers.
It follows intense consultations between London and Washington with Downing Street keen to stress the two countries are acting in concert.
Any military response, if it is decided on, is most likely to be confined to a one-off or limited guided missile strikes on selected Syrian military targets using Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US Navy warships stationed hundreds of miles away in the eastern Mediterranean.
US vessels there are reported to have around 400 such missiles onboard, while a Royal Navy submarine in the region can also carry cruise missiles.
But Russia, Syria and Iran have all issued strong warnings against any western military action.
The team returned safely back to the government checkpoint before setting out again.
The convoy was "deliberately targeted" and it seemed someone was trying to intimidate the team, the UN Secretary General s spokesman, Farhan Haq, told the BBC.
The inspectors have now returned to their hotel and are expected to resume their work on Tuesday.
