Twenty-two pro-Ankara Syria rebels were hit by an “Islamic State” (IS, Daesh) gas attack in northern Syria, the Turkish army said Sunday, the first time Turkey has accused the jihadist group of chemical warfare. Observers, including the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), have previously accused IS of using mustard gas in Syria and described the possibility as extremely worrying. But the panel, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), also found that the Islamic State group in Syria used mustard gas as a weapon in August 2015. OPCW director general Ahmet Uzumcu told AFP earlier this month that IS may have itself manufactured mustard gas used in attacks in Syria and Iraq. He said analysis of samples of mustard gas used was was "poor quality, but still harmful ... and it was weaponised so it's extremely worrying".

Source: Egypt Independent November 27, 2016 11:44 UTC