12 People Treated for Injuries from Suspected Chemical Attack in Mosul, Iraq

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with local health authorities in the Iraqi city of Erbil to provide support in treating at least 12 people said to have respiratory symptoms and blistering. Four of them “are showing severe signs associated with exposure to a blister agent,” the agency said in a statement.
 
The five children, three women and four men have symptoms that include blisters, coughing, redness in the eyes, irritation, and vomiting.
 
It is not immediately confirmed who launched the attack, but media reports suggest that the mortar shells came from western Mosul, which is still controlled by ISIS terrorists. The terrorist group is believed to be capable of manufacturing and using crude chemical weapons in both Iraq and Syria.
 
ISIS has used chemical weapons on numerous occasions in Iraq and Syria, including in the battlefield in northern Iraq, according to Iraqi and US officials.
 
CNN cited two residents of east Mosul as saying that they smelled "something strange," "like a chemical agent," or "mustard gas" following mortar attacks on eastern Mosul on Wednesday and Thursday. The residents said the attacks came across the Tigris River from western Mosul.
 
Since the outbreak of the battle of Mosul, the WHO has been developing the capacities to respond to the use of chemical weapons. According to the statement, the organization has trained over 120 clinicians and provided field decontamination equipment to local hospitals.
 
This is believed to be the first chemical attack in Mosul since 17 October start of Iraqi forces large-scale operation to retake Iraq's second most populous city from ISIS control.