Turkey’s health minister confirmed on Tuesday that sarin gas was used in a recent chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern Syria.

Blood and urine sample taken from victims of the attack, which the United States has blamed on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, indicated that they were exposed to the illicit nerve agent, Recep Akdağ said. Turkey performed autopsies on three Syrians killed in the attack last week.

The Turkish finding corroborates the reports of Syrian doctors on the ground in Khan Sheikhoun in the immediate aftermath of the attack. They observed constricted pupils that did not respond to light, foaming at the mouth, incessant vomiting, uncontrollable spasms, unconsciousness, and paralysis, all of which are consistent with the effects of sarin poisoning.

Sarin is the same nerve agent the Assad regime used against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus in an August 2013 attack, which left 1,429 people dead, including 426 children.

“The raid in Khan Sheikhoun indicates Assad’s growing confidence” following the reconquest of Aleppo and other military victories, which have only been possible due to the “unflinching support of Moscow and Shia militias backed by Iran,” Kareem Shaheen of The Guardian wrote last week.

[Photo: HakanIST / Wikimedia]