Report: Islamic State Used Chemical Weapons Against Iraqi Forces

Islamist rebels wearing gas masks before heading for battle with Syrian regime forces, 2013. Photo: AFP

Islamic State Militants Allegedly Used Chlorine Gas Against Iraqi Security Forces -- Washington Post

BALAD, Iraq — Dizzy, vomiting and struggling to breathe, 11 Iraqi police officers were rushed to a government hospital 50 miles north of the capital last month. The diagnosis: poisoning by chlorine gas. The perpetrators, according to the officers: Islamic State extremists.

The chlorine attack appears to be the first confirmed use of chemical weapons by the Islamic State on the battlefield. An Iraqi Defense Ministry official corroborated the events, and doctors said survivors’ symptoms were consistent with chlorine poisoning.

Iraqi forces say two other crude chlorine attacks have occurred since the extremists seized vast tracts of Iraqi territory this summer, but details on those incidents remain sketchy. The reported assaults all raise concerns that the militants are attempting to hone their chemical weapons capabilities as they push to control more ground.

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More News On Reports That The Islamic State Has Used Chemical Weapons Against Iraqi Forces

US to investigate claims IS used 'chemical weapons' in Iraq. -- BBC
Iraqi Officials Say Islamic Militants Used Chlorine Gas North of Baghdad -- WSJ
U.S. investigating whether Islamic State launched chlorine attack in Iraq -- UPI
Iraqi Officials Say Militants Used Gas -- AP
Islamic State militants gassed Iraqi police with chlorine: Iraqi officials. -- RIA Novosti
ISIS chlorine attack on security forces confirmed – Iraq officials -- RT
US investigating ISIS use of chlorine gas -- The Hill
U.S. looking into possible chlorine gas attack in Iraq - Kerry -- Swiss Info/Reuters
Kerry Says US Concerned About Reports on IS Chlorine Usage in Iraq -- RIA Novosti
US investigate claims Islamic State used chemical weapons -- The Telegraph
ISIS Militants Have Chemical Weapons, Allegedly Used Chlorine Gas In Attack On Iraqi Forces: Report -- IBTimes
Iraq Claims ISIS Used Chemical Weapons in Attack -- NYMag
Report: ISIS Used Chemical Weapons Against Iraqi Forces -- Arutz Sheva

Update: British forces in Iraq are not waiting for the U.S. to investigate these chemical attack allegations .... they have been expecting such attacks for weeks.