Syria’s army is ready for potential foreign strikes against the country and has its "finger on the trigger," Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said in comments carried Saturday on state television.

Syria's army is ready for potential foreign strikes against the country and has its "finger on the trigger," Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said in comments carried Saturday on state television.

"The Syrian army is fully ready, its finger on the trigger to face any challenge or scenario that they want to carry out," he said in a written statement aired on television.

Damascus has ratchet up the rhetoric as the world waits to see if the United States and others decide to strike it.

UN inspectors probing whether an August 21 attack actually happened left Syria earlier on Saturday.

Several hours later, a Syrian security official said the country was expecting an assault "at any moment," adding authorities were ready to retaliate.