Pentagon chief says Syria poison gas attack a "heinous act"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday that a poison gas attack in Syria was a "heinous act and would be treated as such." Speaking at the Pentagon before a meeting with his counterpart from Singapore, Mattis did not elaborate on what that would mean. Western countries, including the United States, blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces for the worst poison gas attack in Syria for more than four years, which choked scores of people to death in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in a rebel-held area on Tuesday. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alistair Bell)