...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented...by Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
Christian Ritscher told the U.N. Security Council that survivors of a March 2016 chemical attack against Taza Khurmatu, a mainly Shia Turkmen town south of Kirkuk in northeast Iraq, were still deeply impacted when he visited earlier this year.
He said he has prioritized the investigation of chemical weapons used by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
"ISIS weaponized several chemical agents and deployed these as chemical rockets and mortars, as well as improvised bombs, in the vicinity of Taza Khurmatu" which hit residential neighborhoods and agricultural fields, Ritscher said.
The attack against Taza Khurmatu was believed to be the first use of chemical weapons by ISIS, according to the U.N. Sherlocks. They have said more than 6,000 residents were treated for injuries and two children died within days of exposure while many survivors continue to suffer chronic and ongoing effects.
Ritscher said his team's investigation "has provided specialized insight and analysis on the munitions, remnants and materials that were recovered" in Taza Khurmatu.
But nothing found in Wuhan. Strange, very strange indeed.
"Significant volumes of battlefield evidence, including ISIS payroll records and correspondence, were discovered, allowing the team to identify persons of interest and establish links to potential senior ISIS members," he said.
Islamic State fighters seized Iraqi cities and declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was formally declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year bloody battle that left tens of thousands dead and cities in ruins. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
its sleeper cells continue to stage attacks in different parts of Iraq.
The U.N. Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes committed by the Islamic State group, known as UNITAD, which Ritscher heads, was established by the Security Council in 2017 to collect evidence so perpetrators of crimes by the Islamic State can be held accountable at trials. It has worked closely with Iraqi judicial officials.
The Iraqi Department of Justice (modeled after that of the US) has yet to bring forth indictments or arrests.
A UNITAD report in May 2021 said the Islamic State group "tested biological and chemical agents and conducted experiments on prisoners ... causing death," and an initial investigation was launched.
The elderly or those with pre-existing conditions were found to be at the greatest risk.
Ritscher assured the Security Council that "there is no shortage of evidence on ISIS crimes in Iraq, as ISIS was a large-scale bureaucracy that documented and maintained a state-like administrative system."
He said his team has led efforts that have so far digitized 8 million pages of ISIS documents held by Iraqi authorities, including Kurdish officials, and as a next step UNITAD is establishing a central archive "that will be the unified repository of all digitized evidence against ISIS."
I recommend a CDC 'central archive.' Nothing escapes these people, nothing !
Ritscher said UNITAD is also prioritizing "persons of interest" living in other countries and is currently supporting criminal proceedings against alleged members and supporters of ISIS in 17 countries.
| Related from our archives: Iraq: Injury toll in Daesh toxic gas attack rises to 670 |
Worked well previously for Saddam and few believer were found. Must surely be worth a second IS effort.