Victorious Iraqi soldiers foil chlorine gas attack by ISIL

Iraqi soldiers backed by volunteer forces have foiled a chlorine gas attack by the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group in Salahuddin Province.

Mohammad Abbas, the commander of 6th Brigade of Badr Organization, said Iraqi forces foiled the attack near the central city of Samarra, and also killed a dozen militants, who sought to launch a gas attack on the al-Rafiaat region southwest of Samarra on Saturday, al-Sumaria satellite TV network reported.

There have been reports that the Takfiri militants used internationally banned chlorine gas during attacks in areas near the central city of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, last month.

In a separate development, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said government forces killed at least 29 ISIL terrorists in an operation in al-Faheelat region near Ramadi.

The developments came as the ISIL terrorists pulled out of the main government building in Ramadi.

The terrorists, under fierce strikes by the Iraqi army and volunteer forces, were compelled to withdraw from the building, leaving the surroundings booby-trapped or on fire, Ramadi’s Mayor Dalaf al-Kubaisi and tribal leaders said on Saturday. The ministry also added that at least 21 ISIL militants were killed during the operation aimed at retaking the building.

The militants had reportedly taken control of the government headquarters in Ramadi a day earlier.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been in chaos since ISIL started its campaign of terror in early June 2014. The terrorists are in control of the city of Mosul, the second largest city of Iraq. Since then, Iraq’s army has been joined by Kurdish forces, as well as Shia and Sunni volunteers in operations to drive the ISIL terrorists out of the areas they have seized.