Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with his German counterpart on Wednesday about a possible international response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons, officials said. Hagel, who was in Brunei for a gathering of regional defense ministers, conferred with Germany's Thomas de Maiziere on "the need for the international community to consider responses to this tragic development in Syria", Pentagon spokesperson George Little said. The two spoke amid growing signs the United States, Britain and France were moving towards launching punitive strikes against the Syrian regime over a deadly chemical weapons attack. -- SPA 20:01 LOCAL TIME 17:01 GMT تغريد