“This would seem to indicate that the reason for these moves is to use them for the purposes of human shields,” she said. The smoke plume slowed down the movement of Iraqi troops, Gen Qusay Hamid Kadhem told AFP news agency. RelatedSyris used chemical weapons: UN The Syrian military used chemical weapons to kill civilians in a village in western Syria, a UN investigation has concluded. The ongoing inquiry into chemical weapons use has also previously concluded that Isil has used mustard gas on the battlefield. Iraqi security officials said the attack was an apparent effort to draw Iraqi troops away from the Mosul offensive.

Source: National Post October 24, 2016 09:22 UTC