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Iraqi forces discover chemical warfare agent in Mosul

Iraqi forces discover chemical warfare agent in Mosul

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSUL: An Iraqi officer says Iraqi forces discovered sulfur mustard, a chemical warfare agent, in Mosul alongside a cache of Russian surface-to-surface missiles. Iraqi special forces Brigadier General Haider Fadhil said French officials tested the chemical agent this week and confirmed it was sulfur mustard. Iraqi forces showed journalists a tank of the chemical agent and a warehouse of more than a dozen surface-to-surface rockets bearing Russian inscriptions in eastern Mosul. Fadhil said the types of rockets found lead him to suspect the Islamic State group was experimenting with the rockets to develop a way to weaponise the chemical agent. Iraqi and US officials have repeatedly warned of IS efforts to develop chemical weapons. The extremist group has launched attacks using low-grade chemical weapons in Iraq, causing a handful of casualties.