US Investigating ISIS ‘Chemical Rocket’ Attack Against American Troops in Iraq

“I don’t know of a case like this where it was proximate to United States forces like this before”, said one military official, noting that “potentially” the rocket round was “within hundreds of yards” of the USA forces and “within the security perimeter” of the base.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and training have since retaken significant ground including the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah.

However, a USA explosive ordinance team went through decontamination after a shell fragment from the rocket initially tested positive for mustard agent, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

A rocket fired by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists at U.S. forces in Iraq may have carried a chemical agent, a USA defense official said Wednesday, September 21. The sample has been sent to a laboratory for more reliable testing.

Officials said the planned deployment of 500 additional troops would not be going to Qayyarah Airfield, the base 25 miles south of Mosul, but elsewhere in the country as the USA military ramps up efforts to support Iraqi forces in a ground assault on Mosul expected to kick off in the next few weeks.

Iraqi security forces wait for vehicles travelling to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, Iraq February 21, 2016.

“It’s been more than 24 hours and we haven’t seen anyone who has any indication of blistering or anything like that”, the official said.

The head of the Salahuddin provincial council, Ahmed Al Karim, said that government forces control up to 80 per cent of the city, with the militants pushed to rural areas across the Tigris River.

“They are desperate and collapsing and try to use these attacks for psychological reasons only”, said General Najim Abdullah al-Jabouri, who is leading the campaign to retake Mosul.

Britain said on Thursday it will give 40 million pounds ($52.26 million) in humanitarian aid to Iraq, anticipating a wave of displaced people as government forces prepare to recapture the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State. The group also controls the city of Tel Afar, west of Mosul towards the Syrian border.