Syria ready for US 'aggression'

In an interview with ITV News International Editor Bill Neely, Syrian deputy foreign minister Dr Faisal Mekdad said a delay in US military action "shows that he [President Obama] and his administration are lost."

"I hope there should be enough wise people in the Congress to make a decision like the House of Commons in the UK," he added.

On the streets of Damascus, soldiers said they were ready for any attack. But many residents now believe America, like Britain, will not strike at all.

President Bashar al-Assad has said Syria is capable of confronting any external attack , Reuters reports, citing state television.

"Syria ... is capable of confronting any external aggression," Assad is quoted as saying at a meeting with Iranian officials.

"The American threats of launching an attack against Syria will not discourage Syria away from its principles ... or its fight against terrorism supported by some regional and Western countries, first and foremost the United States of America."

Syria generally refers to rebels fighting to topple Assad as "terrorists".

A rebel commander has said that Syria's embattled President Assad would gain time to prepare for a military strike while President Obama sought Congressional approval in a decision that would likely delay US action for at least 10 days.

Lieutenant Mohammad Abuod of the Free Syrian Army welcomed Obama's statement, saying: "We have been waiting for this decision for a very long time. Even though it took [the US] some time, they finally took this decision", said the rebel commander from Antakya, Turkey.

"However, Obama's decision to step back from the brink and delay an imminent military strike against Syria to seek approval from the US Congress would give Assad time to prepare for retaliation".

NBC News foreign correspondent Richard Engel said the opposition Free Syrian Army has called Obama's decision to seek Congression approval is "backpedalling."

The Syrian army and the people of Damascus are preparing themselves for US military action seen by many as inevitable.

The capital's residents show no obvious signs of panic, but they are worried, as ITV News International Editor Bill Neely reports:

International Editor Bill Neely in Damascus says the Syrian capital is "relatively calm" but people are worried and take no comfort from President Obama's reassurance that any military strikes will be "limited and narrow".

He explains the Syrian army's campaign against rebels is also continuing with regular shelling:

People took to the streets of Zamalka in Syria today to show their support for US military action. Demonstrators said they wanted the US to "remove Bashar al-Assad for good".

The United Nations chemical weapons team has arrives in Lebanon after completing investigations in Syria, Reuters reports.

The team had crossed the land border from Syria into Lebanon earlier in the day after completing its four-day investigation.

The United Nations team tasked with investigating alleged chemical weapons strikes in Syria arrived in Lebanon on Saturday, a witness told Reuters.

The team crossed the land border into neighbouring Lebanon after leaving their Damascus hotel earlier in the morning.