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US sources say Daesh resorted to chemical attack in Iraq

Wednesday, 21 September 2016 8:59 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 21 September 2016 9:43 PM ]

Daesh Takfiri elements (file photo)

Daesh Takfiri terrorists have launched a chemical attack against an air base in northern Iraq, US officials say.

The militants fired a shell with mustard agent at the Qayarrah air base south of the Daesh-controlled city of Mosul, the second largest in Iraq, on Tuesday, several US officials told CNN.

American and Iraqi troops are operating in the air base where the shell, either a rocket or artillery shell, landed.

The agent, however, is said to have a "low purity" and "poorly weaponized,” an official said, with a second one calling it "ineffective."

“It was ISIS that fired at the base, since the terror group has been making mustard agent for some time,” CNN said in its report, citing the Pentagon’s assessment of the situation.

No one is said to have been hurt in the attack while none of the military forces there have been reported as being exposed to the dangerous agent.

US warplanes have been conducting airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq since August 2014. Some Western states have also participated in some of the strikes in Iraq.

The US-led coalition has done little to stop Daesh's advances in Syria and Iraq. Some analysts have criticized the US-led military campaign, saying the strikes are only meant to benefit US weapons manufacturers.

Daesh militants have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, such as public decapitations and crucifixions, against all communities, in Iraq and Syria.

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