Islamic State pursuing chemical weapons for terror

“We must form a vast coalition, to hit Daesh decisively”, Hollande told an assembly of city mayors using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday warned the Islamic extremists may at some point use them.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq, is seeking to develop chemical weapons, Iraqi and USA intelligence officials say.

USA intelligence officers do not consider IS has the potential to develop refined weapons like nerve fuel which are most fitted to a terrorist attack on a civilian target.

A United Nations chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus on August 29, 2013.

Fearing that Islamic State could use chemical weapons, Iraqi forces have started distributing gas masks and protection suits to troops stationed west and north of Baghdad. “That would threaten not just Iraq but the whole world”, al-Zamili stated.

U.S. and European officials have repeatedly claimed that Islamic State is incapable of producing chemical weapons due to a lack of resources and technology, stressing that it has only managed to produce mustard gas so far – but only of low quality and in small quantities.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer at the Joint Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Regiment, warned, “It is very evident that ISIS are putting much time and effort into training its jihadis in the use of chlorine as a terror weapon and in particular in IEDs (improvised explosive devices)”.

As French President Hollande noted, using “ISIS” or any other variant combining the terms “Islamic” and “State” accords the murderous gang an imprimatur of political legitimacy that is neither realistic nor deserved, particularly in light of the brutality with which they interact with anyone who does not share their insanely narrow, extremist views.

Members of the Iraqi security forces and Shi’ite fighters fire a rocket, during clashes with Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba, near the town of al-Alam, March 7.

In it, the deputy, Sameer al-Khalifawy, wrote that chemical weapons would ensure “swift victory” and “terrorise our enemies”.

“The difficulty they may face is in obtaining the raw materials”, he said. Other worldwide officials disputed this, however, saying the men were not connected with the group.

“We are also aware that they have been looking at anthrax and ricin, which are biological toxics to potentially use”. A senior Iraqi intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the terrorist organization, which now controls wide swaths of Iraq and Syria, can operate nearly with impunity.

Dilanian reported from Washington.