Officials said the planned deployment of 500 additional troops would not be going to Qayyarah Airfield, the base 25 miles south of Mosul, but elsewhere in the country as the USA military ramps up efforts to support Iraqi forces in a ground assault on Mosul expected to kick off in the next few weeks.
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If confirmed, it would be the first recorded chemical attack on United States troops since the militant group overran parts of northern and western Iraq in 2014. All are equipped with personal protective gear against chemical agents, the official said.
The U.S base outside Qayyarah, 25 miles south of Mosul, was struck by a rocket and traces of a “mustard agent” were believed to be present, the official said.
U.S. troops are providing assistance to local forces as they prepare for the offensive.
The official said the attack was militarily insignificant. Detrick, Md., for processing to confirm whether it did, in fact, contain mustard agent, which leaves an oily residue.
Found mistakes in this report? No American soldiers were injured or have showed symptoms of exposure to mustard, CNN reported.
Officials said they “had expected” ISIS may try to use chemical weapons against US and Iraqi troops as they push to take back extremist-controlled Mosul.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants are suspected of firing a shell loaded with a chemical agent during an attack on USA and Iraqi troops in northern Iraq Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said. The Pentagon also maintains up to 1,500 additional troops in Iraq who are on temporary assignments or not included in formal military tallies.
Observers have repeatedly alleged IS has used chemical weapons, and the Pentagon has confirmed the jihadists have deployed chlorine and sulfur mustard devices.
Earlier this month US-led coalition warplanes destroyed a factory in Iraq used by the Islamic State group to make chemical weapons.
The officials said the attack would not change the “security posture” of coalition troops in the area.
IS has always been suspected of making and using crude chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, where it also controls territory.
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US and Iraqi officials have said the push on Mosul could begin in October, though there are concerns that not enough planning has been done for how to manage Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, if and when ISIS is expelled.
