US naval forces move closer to Syria, Obama holds meeting

US naval forces today moved closer to Syria as President Barack Obama met his national security team to discuss a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Arab country earlier this week.

Obama's meeting came as Secretary of State John Kerry reached out to world leaders and the Pentagon moved its naval military assets near Syria.

"As we have previously stated, the President has directed the intelligence community to gather facts and evidence so that we can determine what occurred in Syria," the White House official said.

"Once we ascertain the facts, the President will make an informed decision about how to respond."

The official said the US has "a range of options available" and would "act very deliberately so that we're making decisions consistent with our national interest as well as our assessment of what can advance our objectives in Syria".

On his way to Malaysia, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters that he spent a good amount of time on a video teleconference with the President's senior national security advisers.

"I'll continue to be closely connected and involved with the President's national security advisers on this issue," he said. The Defence Department has a responsibility to provide the President with options for all contingencies, Hagel said.

"That requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets to be able to carry out different options, whatever options the president might choose," he said.

Syrian rebels have accused the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons near Damascus on Wednesday. The attack allegedly left more than 1,300 people dead, the rebels said.

However, the Syrian regime denied the claim and blamed the insurgents for carrying out attacks with chemical weapons.

"An army unit is surrounding a sector of Jobar where terrorists used chemical weapons," said the Syrian state broadcaster, adding soldiers who tried to enter the area had "suffocated".

Personally leading the intensification of diplomatic activities, Kerry has reached out to the leader of the Syrian Opposition, the UN Secretary General and those from the European Union and the Arab League, besides speaking to his counterparts in Britain, France, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, Russia, Germany, the UAE, Italy and Egypt.

"During all of these calls, the Secretary reiterated the United States' commitment to continue working urgently to gather the facts on the ground and also expressed our concern and outrage over the disturbing reports, photos, and videos we have seen, which shock the conscience and that anyone would see as beyond the pale," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

Obama has often warned that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime is a "red line" that could bring about a more strident Western response to the two-year-old civil war.

He has also said that a quick intervention in the Syrian civil war is problematic, given the international considerations that should precede a military strike.