Fourth Estate Staff
Damascus, Syria (4E) – The Islamic State (IS) is reportedly using and making chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria as a United States official stated in a recent report.
The U.S. official identified four occasions wherein the IS militants used such weapons. The chemical is reportedly used in powder form. It is also believed that a cell is dedicated to build chemical weapons. The official said, “They’re using mustard. We know they are. We’ve seen them use it on at least four separate occasions on both sides of the border – both Iraq and Syria. We assess that they have an active chemical weapons little research cell that they’re working on to try and get better at it.”
Mustard agent or mustard gas is commonly used for chemical weapons and it is liquid at ambient temperature. Sometimes, the mustard smells exactly like mustard while others are odorless. It can be either yellow or brown in color.
People being exposed to this could be affected via skin contact, eye contact, or inhaling the powder if it is released into the air as vapor. It causes the blistering of the skin and mucous membranes. There is no antidote once affected by this substance. The chemical is not complex to produce as the information about how to make it is readily available.
The U.S. government is still investigating the claims of the official that chemical weapons are being used in Iraq and Syria.
Aside from the unidentified U.S. official, Ian Pannell of BBC said that they have seen new evidence that chemical attacks are being carried out by IS militants in Syria. Details about this are yet to be released.
It is believed that 200,000 people have already died in Syrian civil war but a tiny percentage of this are believed to have died from chemical weapons. Syria is supposed to be free of chemical weapons after United Nations backed a deal that says the Syrian government should hand over 1,180 tons of declared toxic agents to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW ).
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