First confirmed use of chemical weapons by IS in Iraq

Washington: A chlorine gas attack carried out by the Islamic State (IS) last month had left 11 Iraqi police officials dizzy, vomiting and struggling to breathe, a report said. The attack appeared to be the first confirmed use of chemical weapons by the IS on the battlefield. An Iraqi Defense Ministry official confirmed the events, reported The Washington Post.

The police officials were rushed to a hospital 50 miles north of the capital where doctors confirmed that the survivors' symptoms were consistent with chlorine poisoning. Iraqi forces said that two other incidents of chlorine attacks have taken place since the terror group seized control of large swathes of territory in Iraq but details of the incidents remained sketchy.

This attack is the only incident that has been documented officially. The presence of a large former Iraqi chemical weapon production plant in the territory seized by the IS has raised concerns although officials have said that the 2,500 degraded rockets filled with nerve agents that remain there are unlikely to be fit for use. Weapons inspectors had sealed them off with concrete in a bunker more than 20 years ago, the report said.