World | Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:32am EDT

Exclusive: Watchdog to probe alleged mustard gas use by Islamic State

THE HAGUE | BY ANTHONY DEUTSCH

Islamic State militants "most probably" used the banned chemical weapon mustard gas against Kurdish forces in Iraq and international inspectors have been asked to investigate, diplomatic sources told Reuters.

A team of inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will go to Iraq next week to help determine if the blistering agent sulfur mustard was used in the battlefield, three sources told Reuters.

Islamic State already has a broad arsenal of weapons and military vehicles seized from Iraqi forces. It launched an attack with "weaponized chlorine" in January and there have been at least four other occasions it allegedly used chemical weapons, regional officials said.

If Islamic State insurgents have obtained sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, it would signal a dangerous development in a conflict that has already destabilized the region.

Sulfur mustard is a Class 1 chemical agent, which means it has few uses outside chemical warfare. A blistering agent that causes severe delayed burns to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, it was used on a massive scale during World War One.

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