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Daesh carries out chemical attack in Iraq: Kurdish sources

Monday, 09 May 2016 8:35 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 09 May 2016 8:32 AM ]

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces and fighters from the Izadi community hold a Kurdish flag while entering the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, November 13, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Kurdish sources say Daesh militants used chemical weapons in a recent attack against Peshmerga forces in a village in northern Iraq.

The sources said on Monday that the Takfiri extremists launched several mortar rounds containing chlorine gas at the village of Bashir some 20 km (12 miles) south of Kirkuk the previous night, a newspaper reported.

Scores of Peshmerga fighters suffered temporary respiratory problems and nausea in the wake of the assault, and were transported to the Kirkuk hospital.

The development came only a week after fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization units recaptured Bashir from Daesh terrorists.

Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Arshad Salihi said in a statement on May 6 that Daesh militants had lobbed a barrage of mortar shells containing chemical agents on Taza Khurmatu south of Kirkuk.

Three civilians lost their lives in the attack and hundreds more suffered injuries.

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 sulfur mustard in Daesh attacks.

Meanwhile, Daesh terrorists have reportedly executed eight civilians in Iraq’s embattled northern province of Nineveh.

A local source, requesting not to be named, said Daesh members carried out the execution by firing squad at the Ghazlani military base near the militant-held city of Mosul, on Sunday evening.

This file photo shows militants from the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in an undisclosed location in Iraq. (By Reuters)

The victims had been accused of “espionage” and collaboration with Peshmerga fighters, Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh, and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh Takfiris launched an offensive in the country in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.

The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.

Iraqi army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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