On August 29 , 2013 , a MintPress article attributed to Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh said that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta , Syria alleged that the Al-Nusra Front was responsible for the chemical weapons attack on August 21 . The website said the allegation was based on interviews conducted in Syria . The article 's sources claimed that weapons had been delivered to untrained fighters and " some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions . " On September 20 , the Brown Moses Blog published a statement from Gavlak saying that " despite my repeated requests , made directly and through legal counsel , they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author . Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece . " Gavlak also said the report had not been verified . The dispute was also covered by '' The New York Times '' news blog The Lede and McClatchy
chemical weapons attack
Ghouta chemical attack
MintPress News