News Digest

U.S. investigating report that Islamic State used chlorine gas

American security officials said Thursday that they were looking into a new report that Islamic State (IS) militants had used chlorine gas as a weapon against Iraqi police officers last month near Balad, north of Baghdad. According to the accounts of the officers, IS fighters set off an explosive that unleashed a mass of yellow smoke that hung close to the ground, The Washington Post reported. The Post said that hospital officials who treated the men, as well as an unnamed Iraqi Defense Ministry official, confirmed the men’s suspicion that chlorine gas had been used against them. Eleven officers were injured, though all survived. Unconfirmed reports of improvised bombs made with chlorine gas and used by militants have surfaced since IS began seizing territory in Iraq at the beginning of the year, raising concerns that Iraq’s old chemical weapons stores had fallen into the militants’ hands.

We are aware of the reports but cannot confirm details and are seeking additional information. The use of chlorine as a chemical weapon is an abhorrent act. These recent allegations underscore the importance of our work to eliminate chemical weapons in this volatile region.

National Security Council spokesman, Alistair Baskey

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons noted in September that chlorine gas was being used in parts of the conflict in Syria, where IS is also fighting. The United States has attributed those attacks to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. If the new report is confirmed, the use of chlorine gas by the Islamic State would be the latest iteration of a weapon that has been employed by Iraq’s Sunni militants since the years following the American invasion in 2003. The crude bombs were often made by mixing conventional explosives with cylinders of chlorine compounds usually used for water purification.