Kurdish forces: ISIS used chemical shells, possibly chlorine

IRBIL, Iraq — A Kurdish military officer and a medical official say Islamic State militants Friday fired mortar shells believed to have been filled with a chemical substance, possibly chlorine, at Kurdish troops close to the Iraqi town of Sinjar, wounding 30 fighters.

Dr. Afrasiab Mussa Yones, director of Dohuk hospital, told The Associated Press on Thursday that nine Kurdish soldiers were admitted with symptoms including vomiting, nausea, shortness of breath and itching.

Yones says that further analysis is required, but the symptoms suggest chlorine was used.

Col. Lukhman Kulli Ibrahim said he lost consciousness when the mortar struck. He struggled to breathe and felt that his eyes and chest were burning.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed that ISIS used mustard gas on Kurdish forces last August.

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