Graphic videos of Syria victims surface as White House presses case for strike

The Obama administration has shown graphic videos of Syrians in the aftermath of a chemical attack to a select group of senators in closed-door briefings to make the case that a limited military attack on the country is justified.

A US congressional panel posted videos of Syrian victims Saturday, many of them children, as the White House presses its case for a strike against Damascus.

The 13 graphic videos were shown to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, according to the panel’s website, which says they “explicitly claim to show victims of a chemical or poison gas attack.”

The videos - which the panel said were posted on YouTube by pro-Syrian opposition users - depict scenes of sheer horror, including convulsing children, as well as men sprawled on the floor apparently vomiting and foaming at the mouth.

Warning: This video contains graphic content

One video shows what appear to be dead bodies of all ages and gender lying still side by side. In another, a distressed man holds the apparently lifeless body of a little boy, whom he places on the floor next to an ominously still young girl.

The videos were selected by the US Open Source Centre at the request of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the committee, to “depict a representative range of YouTube content posted regarding the reported 21 August chemical weapons attacks in the suburbs of Damascus,” the website said.