The Cairo-based Arab League on Tuesday blamed the Syrian regime for last week's chemical weapons attack near Damascus that killed hundreds, amid mounting speculation that Arab and western countries are preparing a military strike against Syrian regime targets.

The pan-Arab body condemned "the outrageous attack in East Ghouta by the Syrian regime and its use of banned chemical weapons in blatant defiance of humanitarian and moral values and international law," said a statement, issued after an emergency league meeting in Cairo.

The league called for the attack's perpetrators to be brought to justice. It urged members of the UN Security Council to overcome their differences and reach common ground regarding possible measures to be taken against the Syrian regime's "genocidal" crimes.

The statement did not mention possible moves by the US or Britain to strike Syrian targets in response to the poison gas attack.

Damascus, for its part, has denied responsibility for the August 21 attack, which reportedly killed more than 300 people, instead blaming opposition fighters for the incident.

PHOTO CAPTION

An image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network on August 23, 2013, shows a relative weeping over an infant's body in Damascus.

Agencies