House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned on Tuesday that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) has begun using chemical weapons in targeted attacks against American-supported fighters.
The reported attacks occurred in August during fighting in northern Iraq, targeting the Kurdish military. According to an anonymous U.S. defense official, sulfur mustard was used in the attack, TheHill.com reports.
“We now know that Kurdish peshmerga forces — some of the most able American-supported fighters against ISIS — have been hit and at the very least, dozens of fighters have suffered wounds from chemical weapons,” McCarthy said. “In the time ISIS has had to solidify its position, the terrorist organization has developed chemical weapons, including sulfur mustard, a blister agent, and mustard gas.”
Fox News reported last week that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that mustard gas has been used by ISIS, which he confirmed had made and deployed chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria. At the time, he did not elaborate on the location of the attacks.
“[The Syrian government] has used chemicals against the opposition on multiple occasions since Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention. ISIL has also used toxic chemicals in Iraq and Syria, including the blister agent sulfur mustard,” Clapper said, according to Fox News.
Sulfur mustard, also known as mustard gas, is regulated under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Mustard agents may be deployed through numerous means, including artillery shells, aerial bombs, rockets or by spraying from warplanes.