WESTERN-BACKED Syrian extremists admitted yesterday using chemical weapons against a Kurdish-held suburb of Aleppo.

In a statement, the Army of Islam said one of its brigade commanders had ordered the use of “forbidden” weapons in Thursday’s assault on Sheikh Maqsoud, defended by the Kurdish YPG militia.

“During the clashes, one of the Jaysh al-Islam brigade leaders used [weapons] forbidden in this kind of confrontation,” the statement said, using the Arabic name for the group.