After agreement, Assad's forces attack again.

BEIRUT, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed rebel strongholds in the capital on Sunday after the United States agreed to call off military action in a deal with Russia to remove President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons.

President Barack Obama said he might still launch attacks if Damascus does not follow the nine-month UN disarmament plan drawn up by Washington and Assad's ally, Moscow. But the reluctance of US voters and Western allies to enter a new war in the Middle East, and opposition from Russia, have put the attacks on hold.

Syrian rebels, calling the international focus on poison gas a sideshow, avoided commenting on whether the pact could lead to peace talks and said Assad had resumed an offensive with regular weapons now that the threat of a US air strike had diminished.

International responses to Saturday's agreement were cautious. Western governments, wary of Assad and familiar with years of failed UN inspections in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, cited the enormous technical difficulties of destroying one of the world's largest chemical arsenals in the midst of a civil war.

Air strikes, bombings and infantry attacks against Damascus suburbs on Sunday morning showed that Assad is once again resuming the war against rebels after a retreat following the August 21 chemical attack that prompted the threat of a US strike.

"It's a clever proposal from Russia to avoid attacks," an Assad supporter told Reuters at the port of Tartous, site of a Russian naval base. "Russia will give us new weapons that are better than chemical weapons," he added.

An opposition leader in Damascus echoed the disappointment among rebel leaders: "Helping the Syrians would mean ending the bloodshed," he said. The chemical attack is estimated to have killed only hundreds of more than 100 in the war that has also forced a third of the population to leave their homes since 2011.

(Reporting by Oliver Holmes)