Report: Syria and Islamic State Blamed for Chemical Attacks

Source: Associated Press

An international team has concluded that the Syrian government and Islamic State militants carried out chemical attacks in the conflict-wracked nation during 2014 and 2015, according to its report circulated on Wednesday.

The team, which was mandated by the U.N. Security Council a year ago to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria, blamed the government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.

The report to the council by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, known as the JIM, said three other cases pointed toward government responsibility but weren't conclusive. The three other cases it investigated were inconclusive.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power called the use of chemical weapons "a barbaric tool, repugnant to the conscience of mankind," and urged the Security Council to take "strong and swift action" against the perpetrators.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/france-syria-islamic-state-blamed-chemical-attacks-41629516