Three Dead, Hundreds Injured As ISIL Used Chemical Attacks In Iraq’s Kirkuk
MEP: At least three civilians lost their lives and hundreds suffered injuries after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Daesh) terrorists have reportedly used chemical weapons [which is internationally banned], in Kirkuk province of northern Iraq, an official said.
The terror group lobbed a barrage of mortar rounds, which contained chemical agents, on the town of Tuz Khurmatu, situated 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of oil-rich city of Kirkuk, on March 9, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, Arshad Salihi, said in a statement on Friday.
“ISIL has materials to produce these kinds of prohibited weapons […] and has also experts to produce these weapons,” Salihi said.
Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu said on Tuesday that fact-finding teams from The Hague-based watchdog have discovered evidence suggesting the use of sulphur mustard in ISIL attacks against areas in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
“Although they could not attribute this to ISIL… there are strong suspicions that they may have used it (chemical weapons),” Uzumcu said.
“Secondly, the suspicions are that they may have produced it themselves, which is extremely worrying,” he pointed out.
He further said “it proves that they have the technology, know-how and also access to the materials which might be used for the production of chemical weapons.”
