The White House plans on Friday to release an unclassified version of an intelligence assessment of a chemical weapons attack last week in Syria, a US official said.

The report may give Americans more insight into why President Barack Obama has said that his officials have concluded that the Bashar al-Assad government is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in a Damascus suburb.

Obama administration officials shared some of the evidence with lawmakers on Thursday and cited intercepted communications from Syrian officials among other details.

Obama and his officials are weighing the options on how to respond to the attack, including a possible missile strike. Obama has said he does not want to get drawn into a protracted conflict, but wants to ensure that chemical weapons are not used again.

There were no immediate details on the time of the release of the intelligence report.