Auto teams have reportedly been operating in both Iraq and Syria for a year, recording tens of thousands of weapons and munition types used by ISIS. The third involved a 120mm mortar (which failed to explode) that landed near Kurdish positions at the Mosul Dam in northern Iraq.
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Auto and Sahan Research also looked into ammunition that was launched into Tel Brak and Hasakah in northern Syria.
YPG has already said that the attacks targeted the Kurdish-held Salhiya district of Hasakeh city and Kurdish positions south of the town of Tel Brak. The YPG has been receiving military aid and training from the United States, but neighboring Turkey regards it as a terrorist organization because of its ties to the PKK. In the aftermath of one of the attacks, Time claims that “investigators found dark yellow, powerful-smelling liquid leaking from a spent mortar, causing headaches and nausea among the team. Prolonged exposure to the chemicals also caused vomiting”.
Two groups investigating this attack confirmed that chemical weapons were used during June against a Kurdish group, which had taken a lead in the fight with ISIS militants.
“We continue to monitor these reports closely, and would further stress that any use of chemicals or biological material as weapons is completely inconsistent with worldwide standards and norms regarding such capabilities”, said Earnest. The munition was fired from a village about four kilometers away which was then under the control of ISIL, Bevan said. “Again, investigating teams found residues that ’emitted an acrid odor and induced powerful throat and eye irritation.'”.
ISIS is experimenting with different designs, said Bevan.
Emmanuel Deisser, managing director at Sahan Research, said: “Although these chemical attacks appear to be test cases, we expect IS construction skills to advance rapidly as they have for other IEDS (improvised explosive devices)”.
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“We consider this very much a test run, using improvised munitions and filling them with chemicals that are available to them”, wrote the authors.
