The Pentagon said on Thursday it captured the Islamic State’s chemical weapons chief in Iraq during an operation in February.
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He is expected to be transferred to Iraqi custody when the interrogations are finished.
Iraq’s defense minister, Khaled Obeidi, played down fears of Islamic State’s chemical weapons capabilities, telling reporters Wednesday in Tikrit that the group lacks “chemical capabilities”. The substance causes severe burns of the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract, as it can cause harm when inhaled. The Iraqi official said that Iraqi intelligence took part in questioning Afri and said he was being held under joint authority.The prisoner is the second known Islamic State prisoner to be captured and questioned in Iraq by USA forces.
“We’ve said before that they have used chemical weapons in both Iraq and Syria, sulphur mustard specifically”, Davis said. He declined to say which elements of the militants’ chemical weapons program were struck or how severely they were damaged.
And separately, Syrian Kurdish officials say jihadists on Tuesday used phosphorous in a chemical attack on the city of Aleppo.
Islamic State fighters also have been accused of using commercially produced chlorine in gas attacks in Syria.
Mr.al-Afari has told American interrogators that ISIS is weaponizing mustard gas by loading the powder into artillery shells, although officials told The Times it was likely not concentrated enough to kill. Some of the bunkers were left intact after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division headquarters and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Campbell, Ky. – a brigade can include anywhere between 3,500 to 5,000 forces – will head back to Iraq later this year.
With ISIS under continual pressure by USA airstrikes and local forces, officials said, there are concerns that ISIS could turn more to the use of chemical weapons in desperation.
“One of the goals of the ETF is to capture ISIL [IS] leaders”.
The decision to deploy the commando force in Iraq came after a Delta Force raid in eastern Syria last May provided a significant trove of intelligence.
The material revealed details about Islamic State leaders and its clandestine financial system, including how it raised and stored cash.
Anna Nelson, an ICRC spokesperson in Washington, said Red Cross delegates had visited the detainee. The officials say they did not intend to establish a long-term American facility to hold Islamic State detainees, and Obama administration officials have ruled out sending any to the United States military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
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Before this, the American military has largely fought the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, with airstrikes, killing large numbers of Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
