SYRIA’S al-Qaida affiliate has caches of chemical weapons in Idlib, national media reported residents of the province saying yesterday.

The report by the official Sana news agency came a day after the government rejected a UN report blaming it for the April 4 nerve-gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun in the south of the province.

Sana said the Nusra Front, now rebranded as Hetesh, has several stockpiles of chemical artillery shells in the towns of Ghazleh and Ma’arat Misrin.