IS actions in Iraq & Syria

The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) is suspected of using mustard gas in an attack against Kurdish forces near the Iraqi city of Irbil in early August. Mustard gas can cause death due to fluid buildup in the lungs. IS has also been accused of attacking Kurdish forces with chlorine gas.

IS controls land in both Syria and Iraq and may have obtained chemical weapons from stockpiles in either country. The Syrian government is known to have had chemical weapons and has been accused of using them against rebels in its own civil war, though the government claims to have destroyed all of its chemical weapons. In Iraq, during Saddam Hussein’s reign, the Iraqi army was accused of attacking Kurdish civilians with mustard gas.

IS released video showing the destruction of the first-century Temple of Bel, in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra, on Aug. 24.