The Islamic State has used poison gas in attacks against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria in late June, two monitoring groups confirmed.
Two UK-based organizations investigating the attack said they had confirmed IS’ use of chemical weapons against Kurdish forces and civilian targets in Syria and Iraq, where they said chemical agents were also used in an attack on an Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga position on June 21 or 22, World Bulletin reported.
A report in Ynet cited the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as saying the IS had fired “makeshift chemical projectiles” on June 28 at a YPG-controlled area of the city of Hasaka, and at YPG positions south of the town of Tel Brak to the northeast of Hasaka.
It was the first IS attack of its kind against the YPG, said Redur Xelil, spokesman for the militia.
The type of chemical used had not been specifically determined, he said, and none of the YPG fighters exposed to the gas had died because they were quickly taken to hospital.
IS Claims Iraq Massacre
At least 130 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at a busy market in an Iraqi town on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by IS militants since they overran large parts of the country.
The blast brought down several buildings in Khan Bani Saad, about 30 km northeast of Baghdad, crushing to death people who were celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, police and medics said.
IS claimed responsibility for the attack in the mixed eastern province of Diyala where Khan Bani Saad is located and said the target was “rejectionists,” allegedly referring to Shia Muslims.
Angry crowds went on the rampage after the explosion, smashing the windows of cars parked in the street in grief and anger. Body parts were flung onto the roofs of nearby buildings by the force of the blast, police said.
“Some people were using vegetable boxes to collect children’s body parts,” said police major Ahmed al-Tamimi from the site of the explosion, describing the damage to the market as “devastating.”
The Diyala provincial government declared three days of mourning and ordered all parks and entertainment places to close for the rest of the Eid al-Fitr holiday to preempt any further attacks.
Iraqi officials declared victory over IS in Diyala earlier this year after security forces and Shia militias drove them out of towns and villages there, but the insurgents remain active in the province.
IS said in a statement the suicide car bomber was carrying around three tons of explosives.
The United Nations said earlier this week that nearly 15,000 people had been killed in the 16-month period up to April 30.
African Christians Kidnapped in Libya
IS has kidnapped three African Christians in eastern Libya, the insurgent group said, publishing their passport pictures.
The men come from Egypt, Nigeria and Ghana, IS said in a statement on social media, without elaborating.
The kidnapping took place in Noufliyah, an IS stronghold southeast of Sirte, said a resident, asking not to be named.
Mohamed El Hejazi, a military spokesman loyal to Libya’s UN-backed government based in the east, also said the abduction happened in the small town.
IS militants have beheaded dozens and attacked foreign missions in Tripoli, while also fighting forces loyal to Libya’s two governments.
