The attack came from a powdered mustard agent delivered in a mortar or rocket shell and fired on USA forces on Tuesday at the Qayyarah West air base near Mosul. However, a second test gave a negative reading for chemical agents.
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One official told CNN News that the agent had “low purity” and was “poorly weaponised” while a second official labelled the strike “ineffective”.
The officials said they “had expected” that ISIS might try use chemical weapons as United States and Iraqi forces push towards Mosul. USA troops at the base are equipped with chemical weapons exposure suits.
Following decontamination, no service personnel showed signs or symptoms of mustard exposure, the Pentagon said.
Earlier this month US-led coalition warplanes destroyed a factory in Iraq used by the Islamic State group to make chemical weapons. The defense officials said American troops were several hundred yards from where the shell landed.
“Our concern is not much greater after seeing this”, said the official, who asked not to named.
However, there have been 20 documented cases of chemical weapons being used against Kurdish fighters in Iraq and a quarter of those cases involved mustard gas. Concentrations of mustard gas can cause agonising burns and blisters, blindness and permanent disfigurement.
The leaflet is a cartoon depicting a large arrow pointing at a clock, outlining a series of Iraqi military victories leading up to the designated time of the coming attack on Mosul, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The official said the security posture at the base had not changed.
“Intelligence had indicated that Daesh [Isis] converted a pharmaceutical plant complex into a chemical weapons productions capability”, he added, saying 50 individual targets were hit.
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Also on Thursday, Britain said £40 million (Dh192.5m) in humanitarian aid to Iraq, anticipating a wave of displaced people as government forces prepare to recapture Mosul. “It linked the Daesh-held major city of Mosul with the Sharqat District and the Baaj District”, al-Jabouri said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
