The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says its inspectors have visited 11 sites in Syria identified by Damascus as part of its poison gas and nerve agent program and have destroyed "critical equipment" at six of the sites.

The organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize last week is attempting to oversee the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, precursor chemicals and production facilities by mid-2014.

It said Wednesday in a brief update on the mission that the OPCW-United Nations team in Syria also has overseen the destruction of unloaded chemical weapons munitions — further reducing the ability of Bashar Assad's regime to use poison gas in his country's civil war.

A week ago, inspectors were just beginning their mission and had only visited two sites, so the latest figures represent a significant acceleration in the team's work.