A group of unknown snipers on Monday opened fire at the UN chemical investigation team in the countryside of Damascus, a UN spokesman was cited by the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The unnamed spokesman said that there was multiple, deliberate shootings on the UN team, which caused damage to a car. He spelled no further details about the well-being of the team members.

The UN inspectors in Syria started Monday on-site fact-finding activities in the eastern al-Ghouta area in the countryside of

Damascus to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons.

The team started its mission a day after the Syrian government granted it an access to the site of the alleged attacks.

On Aug. 21, the Syrian opposition claimed 1,300 people were killed in a chemical arm attack by the government on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus, which was strongly denied by the Syrian government.

The attack took place just two days after a group of UN inspectors began an investigation into alleged use of chemical weapons in the northern Khan al-Assal town and two other undisclosed locations, as the government accused the rebels of being behind the chemical attack in Khan al-Assal and urged the UN to send the investigation team.

The Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011 between government forces and armed opposition seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad, has led to killings of more than 93,000 people and forced more than 1.7 million people to flee the country.