The Latest: Official says UN team fired on at Syria site

BEIRUT – A United Nations official says a U.N. team on a security mission to the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria was fired upon and had to return to its base in Damascus.

The official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the shooting occurred during a site visit to Douma on Tuesday, ahead of an expected visit to the area by a team of chemical weapons experts who have been delayed for days.

Independent experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are still waiting to visit the town, 11 days after the alleged attack took place. They arrived in Damascus on a fact-finding mission on Saturday.

Russia and the Syrian government deny responsibility for the alleged attack.