Monday, September 22, 2014

Breaking News: Islamic State Militants Are Now Using Chemical Weapons

An image allegedly showing militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS) driving on a street at unknown location in the Salaheddin province, Iraq, 2014. (photo credit: AFP / HO / WELAYAT SALAHUDDIN)

WNU Editor: Earlier in the day we had covered the fall of a major Iraqi military base (Camp Saqlawiya) to Islamic State forces .... Hundreds Of Iraqi Soldiers Missing Or Stranded After Their Base Was Overrun By Islamic State Forces. As we had mentioned in the post .... this was a major defeat for the Iraqi military .... as well as raising concerns that the Iraqi military was not capable to confront the Islamic State .... Islamic State attack on Iraqi base leaves hundreds missing, shows army weaknesses (Washington Post).

Reports from Iraqi news sources are now revealing that Islamic State militants actually used chemical weapons to overcome the defenses of this base (see below).

* URGENT: ISIS kills 300 Iraqi soldiers by chlorine gas attack in Saqlawiyah -- Iraqi News
* Nujaifi Condemns / Daash / crime in Saqlawiyah and Alsiger areas of Anbar. -- National Iraqi News Agency

This is not the first time that reports of chemical weapons being used have made the news. The Wall Street Journal first noticed that chemical weapons were being used last week, followed by an Iraqi lawmaker who had mentioned that Iraqi forces had foiled a chemical attack this past weekend. Other news sources are now corroborating reports that other attacks in which chemical weapons (albeit in small quantities) were used against Iraqi military forces have occurred in other parts of the country.

But what convinced me that something was up was this report a few days ago .... Scores Of Islamic State Militants Killed In Iraq While Loading A Chemical Warhead. Clearly .... ISIS wants a chemical arsenal .... and they want to use it. One has to wonder if this is one of the reasons why President Obama ordered air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria today .... to send a message that this is a red line that should not be crossed. Either way .... the use of chemical weapons and the escalation of U.S. involvement in both Syria and Iraq tells me that this war is now entering a very dangerous phase.

1 comment:

Unknown said...


ISIS kills 300 Iraqi soldiers by chlorine gas attack in Saqlawiyah, Al Anbar, Iraq.

Saqlawiyah is smack dab in between Fallujah and Habbaniyah.

Al Taqadum airfeld will be land locked once Habbaniya and Khaladiyah are taken to the north of it.