ISIL used chemical weapons against Iraqi troops: Officials

Iraqi officials say the ISIL Takfiri militants carried out a chemical attack against security forces and Shia volunteer fighters north of the capital, Baghdad, last month.

According to the accounts of officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, ISIL terrorists used bombs with chlorine-filled cylinders during clashes in the town of Duluiya, located about 96 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital, on September 15.

They said some 40 Iraqi soldiers and Shia fighters were made ill and showed symptoms of chlorine poisoning such as coughing and vomiting. They were all treated in hospital and quickly recovered.

The use of chlorine gas has raised grave concerns about future militant attacks in Iraq. There are also fears that Iraq’s old chemical weapons stores could have fallen into ISIL’s hands.

In September, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons stated that chlorine gas was being used in parts of Syria that are under the control of ISIL.

Recent photos of Kurdish fighters killed in battle against the ISIL Takfiri militants in the Syrian border town of Kobani, known in Arabic as Ain al-Arab, apparently suggest that the terrorists have used chemical weapons against the Kurds.

The ISIL terrorists currently control large swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq. They have committed terrible atrocities in both countries, including mass executions and beheading of local residents as well as foreign nationals.