Kurds Investigate Two Possible ISIS Chemical Weapon Attacks

Kurdish officials presented video and lab results as evidence that ISIS used chlorine gas against its forces in two attacks.

Kurdish forces in Iraq are investigating whether ISIS militants used chemical weapons in two attacks, a top official said Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council presented video and lab results as evidence that ISIS used chlorine gas against its forces in two attacks in December 2014 and January 2015.

According to the Associated Press, dozens of Kurdish fighters were treated for dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and general weakness following the attacks.

International authorities have not verified the claims. ISIS has not commented on the allegations either.

Kurdish officials said there is footage from the Dec. 26 attack, which shows men coughing and pouring water over their heads.

"I put a wet scarf on my face because when I saw the gas, I felt it," Capt. Mohammad Sewdin, who led the Kurdish special forces, told the AP. "I was afraid it might be something like [chemical weapons]. So I told my men to do the same."

Sewdin said he coughed up blood and was temporarily blinded following the attack.

This is not the first time ISIS militants have been accused of using chlorine during attacks. In October, Iraqi officials accused the group of using chlorine-filled cylinders in an attack in the towns of Balad and Duluiya.

Chlorine as a chemical weapon was first used in World War I. Most nations banned the use of Chlorine in the Geneva Protocol of 1925.

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