The US Navy has positioned its four destroyers near Syria, in preparation of carrying out military action against the war-torn country, according to a defence official.

The move follows the massive chemical attack by the Syria Government on rebels and civilians near Damascus, which killed hundreds of people.

"The vessels USS Mahan, USS Gravely, USS Barry and USS Ramage, each equipped with up to 90 Tomahawk cruise missiles, are positioned in the eastern Mediterranean Sea."

The Washington Times has quoted an official as saying that the vessels USS Mahan, USS Gravely, USS Barry and USS Ramage, each equipped with up to 90 Tomahawk cruise missiles, are positioned in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama had met top national security advisors and ordered the intelligence community to gather facts and evidence to determine what occurred in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syria Government has allowed the United Nations chemical weapons experts to examine the recent suspected chemical weapon attack allegations near Damascus, the capital of Syria.

The Syrian state news agency SANA quoted the country’s Information Minister Omran Zoabi as saying, to Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV, that "US military intervention will create a very serious fallout and a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East."

Defence Technology