ISIS launched a chemical offensive against advancing Iraqi forces in the flashpoint city of Mosul over the weekend, pointed out US Army Major General Joseph Martin, the commanding general of the so-called Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command–Operation Inherent Resolve, Press TV reported.
Earlier, Iraqi security sources reported that ISIS had fired missiles loaded with chlorine at the then-freshly-liberated neighborhood of al-Abar in west Mosul, causing respiratory problems for at least seven troops.
“The Iraqi security forces… were in vicinity of one of the strikes,” Martin told reporters, adding, “They were taken back for the appropriate level of medical care… Nobody’s been [fatally] impacted. Nobody’s died.”
Martin, however, said that the agent used in the attack had not been identified “at this time.”
“We have sent it back for testing but we’re still waiting for the outcomes,” he added.
