ISIS are making and using chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria

[Alii 2,039]

There is a growing belief within the US government that the Islamic State militant group is making and using crude chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, a US official has told the BBC.
The US has identified at least four occasions on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border where IS has used mustard agents, the official said.
The official said the chemical was being used in powder form.
A BBC team on the Turkey-Syria border has seen evidence backing these claims.
The US believes the group has a cell dedicated to building these weapons.
"They're using mustard," the individual said of IS. "We know they are."
The mustard agent was probably being used in powder form and packed into traditional explosives like mortar rounds, the official said.
"We've seen them use it on at least four separate occasions on both sides of the border - both Iraq and Syria."
When these weapons explode the mustard-laced dust blisters those who are exposed to it.

The official said the intelligence community believes there are three possible explanations for how IS acquired the deadly chemical agent.
The most plausible in the eyes of intelligence community, according to the official, is that they are manufacturing it.
"We assess that they have an active chemical weapons little research cell that they're working on to try and get better at it," the official said.
The alternative theories are that IS militants found chemical weapons caches in Iraq or in Syria.
It is unlikely that militants found the chemical agent in Iraq, the official said, because the US military would have probably discovered it during the military campaign it waged in the country for about a decade.
The official said that militants were unlikely to have seized the chemical agent from the Syrian regime before the regime was forced to hand over its stockpile under the threat of US air strikes in 2013.
The most likely theory, the official said, was that it was being made using knowledge that is widely available, and pointed out that the mustard agent is not a complex chemical to produce.
The US government's position continues to be that it is investigating claims of chemical weapons use in Iraq and Syria, but the official speaking to the BBC said that many intelligence agencies now believe there is now enough evidence to back up these claims.
The official requested anonymity because that person was not authorised to speak about it publicly.

He described sulphur mustard as a Class 1 chemical agent, one that is rarely used outside of chemical warfare.

Source: 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34211838

[NewYorkCity 10,536]

well... coming from the US.. i don't know if I should believe it. They were so sure about the massive destruction guns in Iraq like 10 years ago... 

[Alii 2,039]

Mustard gas has extremely powerful vesicant effects on its victims. In addition, it is strongly mutagenic and carcinogenic, due to its alkylating properties. It is also lipophilic. Because people exposed to mustard gas rarely suffer immediate symptoms, and mustard-contaminated areas may appear completely normal, victims can unknowingly receive high dosages. Within 24 hours of exposure to mustard agent, victims experience intense itching and skin irritation, which gradually turns into large blisters filled with yellow fluid wherever the mustard agent contacted the skin. These are chemical burns and are very debilitating. Mustard gas vapour easily penetrates clothing fabrics such as wool or cotton, so it is not only the exposed skin of victims that gets burned. If the victim's eyes were exposed then they become sore, starting with conjunctivitis, after which the eyelids swell, resulting in temporary blindness. In rare cases of extreme ocular exposure to sulfur mustard vapors, corneal ulceration, anterior chamber scarring, and neovascularization have occurred. In these severe and infrequent cases, corneal transplantation has been used as a treatment option.[9] Miosis may also occur, which is probably the result from the cholinomimetic activity of mustard.[10] At very high concentrations, if inhaled, mustard agent causes bleeding and blistering within the respiratory system, damaging mucous membranes and causing pulmonary edema. Depending on the level of contamination, mustard gas burns can vary between first and second degree burns, though they can also be every bit as severe, disfiguring and dangerous as third degree burns.[11] Severe mustard gas burns (i.e. where more than 50% of the victim's skin has been burned) are often fatal, with death occurring after some days or even weeks have passed. Mild or moderate exposure to mustard agent is unlikely to kill, though victims require lengthy periods of medical treatment and convalescence before recovery is complete.

The mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of mustard agent mean that victims who recover from mustard gas burns have an increased risk of developing cancer in later life. 

This is so ****ed up. 

[Alii 2,039]

well... coming from the US.. i don't know if I should believe it. They were so sure about the massive destruction guns in Iraq like 10 years ago... 

I hope this isn't really happening. It is so sad what people there are going through.