Kurds probe 2 possible Islamic State chemical weapon attacks
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Kurdish forces in Iraq are investigating two other possible chemical weapons attacks by the Islamic State group, a top official said Monday, as authorities put an Iraqi offensive to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown on hold.
The two purported chemical weapon attacks resemble one claimed Saturday by Kurdish officials who say an independent laboratory concluded the militants used chlorine gas against its peshmerga forces in a Jan. 23 truck suicide attack. However, their claims were not immediately verified by international authorities.
Iraqi officials and Kurds fighting in Syria have made similar allegations about the militants using the low-grade chemical weapons against them. The Islamic State group, which controls a third of Syria and Iraq in its self-declared caliphate, has not commented on the claims.
Gen. Aziz Wesi, in charge of a Kurdish special forces brigade, told journalists Monday that authorities declined to immediately discuss the two newly announced attacks when they happened on Dec. 26 and Jan. 28 out of fears of causing a panic.
