Day 1,140: Crucifixions, chlorine gas, and a new refugee camp

Today is Day 1,140 of the Syria conflict.

Since yesterday afternoon, most of the chatter on Syria has been regarding The Telegraph's verification of the past month's rumors of chlorine gas attacks in Kafr Zita and Talmenes. The Telegraph had soil samples collected and tested. The verdict? According to The Telegraph's experts, both chlorine and ammonia were used, and were dropped by barrels from helicopters. In other words: It happened, and yes the regime was responsible.

The other item making the rounds yesterday was the image of a man being crucified by the jihadist rebel group ISIS*. This is not the first time that grisly footage of ISIS atrocities have surfaced, but, to state the grim reality, crucifixion tends to make headlines in a way decapitation and other forms of dismemberment do not.

Finally, to help accommodate the staggering number of Syrian refugees, Jordan today opened "a new, sprawling tent city" in the province of Zarqa. The "sprawling tent city" quote is language from the AP writeup: It's a perfect description. The camp is 9 miles across, and will eventually be larger than the Zaatari camp, which is now the country's fourth-largest city. Here's a crop from one of the maps the UN Refugee Agency has put up on their site. Head on over to see some others.

The conflict continues.

*Alternately seen as ISIL, both acronyms referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham