So far, there is only evidence of the terrorist group using mustard gas, which produces wounds that resemble blisters or burns.
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Thomas Lynch, a former special assistant to the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said France, Belgium and other European nations must also devote greater resources to their counter-terrorism and intelligence services.
How real is the threat of ISIS using chemical weapons against the West?
The official said ISIS has a cell dedicated to building these weapons and has already packed the powder form of mustard gas in traditional explosives.
That seemed to be confirmed in a Tumblr post in August by high-profile ISIS fighter Israfil Yilmaz.
The group often refers to themselves as the Islamic State as this encapsulates their overall ambition, especially considering ISIS operates or has affiliates in other parts of the world, including North Africa and South Asia.
“The regime uses chemical warfare on a regular basis these days, and nobody bats an eye – yet when IS captures it from them and uses it against them it’s all of a sudden a huge problem?”
“The pre-deployment training that everybody goes through prepares them for the the worst-case instances that you might imagine for chem [chemical], bio [biological], radiological events, he told Pentagon reporters”.
Islamic State is working “very seriously” to produce chemical weapons which could be used to strike major cities anywhere in the world, an Iraqi intelligence official has said.
The team was able to confirm with the utmost confidence that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard, the report said.
Still, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday warned that Islamic extremists might at some point use chemical or biological weapons.
As Europe becomes more resilient to Paris-style attacks, Islamic State will look at “evermore desperate ways to attack us”, he said. Even with the mustard gas, Patrick Martin, an Iraq expert with the Institute for the Study of War, a military research think tank in Washington, told NBC News that the damage has been limited because the chemical was only added to warheads and mortars.
Experts have questioned whether they would have the logistical capabilities to deploy chemical agents outside the Middle East. “Their delivery systems aren’t that sophisticated”.
Iraqi officials are concerned about the large swaths of land now held by ISIS, including Mosul, which had a university with lab facilities. There are also concerns about militants trying to obtain radioactive materials.
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A senior Iraqi intelligence officer, with first-hand knowledge of Isis’ chemical weapons programme, told The Associated Press anonymously: “They now have complete freedom to select locations for their labs and production sites and have a wide range of experts, both civilians and military, to aid them”.
