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OPCW concerned about alleged recent chemical attacks in Iraq

Xinhua, March 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Director-General of the Organisaiton for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu has expressed serious concerns about recent reports of possible use of chemical weapons by non-state actors in Iraq including against civilians in Taza city, according to an OPCW press release issued on Wednesday.

"The OPCW has taken serious note of these disturbing reports against the background of confirmed use of chemical weapons in Iraq. Any use of chemical weapons is abhorrent and a violation of universally accepted international norms," said the head of the global chemical arms watchdog.

The Director-General has offered technical assistance to Iraq in its investigation of these alleged attacks.

Earlier in March, the Iraqi authorities accused the Islamic State (IS) group of using "poisonous substance" in shelling Taza in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk. The United States military captured one of the IS top chemical-weapons experts in a recent raid in northern Iraq.

The OPCW said it had recently worked with the Iraqi authorities leading to confirmation of the use of sulfur mustard in an attack in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Sulphur mustard causes severe burns to the eyes and skin and also affects the respiratory tract. Enditem