AMSTERDAM: Sarin or a similar banned toxin was used in an attack in Syria's Idlib province on April 4 that killed nearly 90 people, the global chemical weapons watchdog said on Wednesday.

The finding supported earlier testing by Turkish and British laboratories.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said results of the analysis "indicate that sarin or a sarin like substance was used".

The finding was based on tests on bio-medical samples collected from three victims during their autopsies that were analysed at two OPCW-designated laboratories, the OPCW said.

"Bio-medical samples from seven individuals undergoing treatment at hospitals ... (also) indicate exposure to sarin or a sarin like substance," the statement said.