Iraqi officials say IS militants used chlorine gas

Islamic State militants used chlorine gas during fighting with security forces and Shiite militiamen last month north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said today.
The use of chlorine gas as a weapon adds a new concern to the turmoil in the country. The reports, if confirmed, would be the first time the Sunni extremists attempted to use chlorine since their blitz earlier this year that seized large chunks of territory in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Three Iraqi officials, a senior security official, a local official from the town of Duluiya and an official from the town of Balad told The Associated Press that the Islamic State group used bombs with chlorine-filled cylinders during clashes in late September in the two towns.

The militants have failed to capture both Duluiya, 75 kilometers north of Baghdad, and Balad, 80 kilometers north of the Iraqi capital.
In the attacks, about 40 troops and Shiite militiamen were slightly affected by the chlorine and showed symptoms consistent with chlorine poisoning, such as difficulty in breathing and coughing, the three officials said. The troops were treated in hospital and quickly recovered.
The senior security official said it was most likely that the Islamic State fighters obtained the chlorine from water purification plants located in the areas they had overrun earlier. Iraqi intelligence has indicated that the IS group has some shells filled with chlorine and they are ready to be used, the official also said.

"The IS fighters seized some quantities of chlorine after seizing control of some water purification plants or sites where chlorine was kept," said the senior official, adding that the "IS group has some experts who were able to manufacture chlorine shells."

The three officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media, did not elaborate or provide more details. The use of chlorine by the IS group in Iraq in September was first reported by the Washington Post.
Chlorine, a chemical used in industry and water purification process, was first introduced as a chemical weapon at Ypres in World War I with disastrous effects because gas masks were not easily available at the time.

In neighboring Syria, a joint UN fact-finding mission sent to investigate alleged chlorine attacks was ambushed and briefly detained by armed men earlier this year in rebel-held territory. The mission had said it was virtually certain chlorine had been used as a chemical weapon in the country's north.