ISIL uses chemical weapons in Mosul
Extremists’ home-made mortars and bombs contain mustard or chlorine gas in a desperate bid to slow Iraqi advances
MOSUL // ISIL is using chemical weapons to slow the advance of Iraqi troops in Mosul.
Iraqi special forces fighting in Mosul and the federal police supporting them said they had been targets of attacks with poison gas – thought to be mustard or chlorine – since at least April.
The battle to liberate the city from ISIL is entering its final stages after seven months.
Recent gains by the military have reduced the area under ISIL control to just over 10 per cent of the city on the west bank of the Tigris river, said Brig Gen Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi high command.
The extremists remain entrenched in the historic old city but are steadily losing ground in the suburbs to the north-west.
Unable to stop the advance against them, ISIL militants have turned to poison gas, delivered in mortar shells or left behind in crude explosive devices.
In the confused fighting over the dense urban maze of west Mosul, there has been little to prevent the extremists from launching such attacks.
“We can’t stop them,” said Lt Col Muhanned of the elite emergency response division. “Daesh can fire mortars from anywhere.
“We’ve given our soldiers advice on dealing with such attacks and distributed gas masks.”
Lt Col Muhanned’s unit, which is advancing through the Hay Al Aiqtisadiiyn area of west Mosul, was first exposed to poison gas on April 21 in nearby Thawra.
Mortar shells exploding near the commander’s vehicle spilt liquid on to the concrete and yellow smoke rose into the air. Fifteen men were taken to hospital after inhaling the gas, and one died. Since then, Lt Col Muhanned’s unit has been hit repeatedly by chemical attacks.
He refused to give the number of casualties from the attacks, but it is clear they have significantly disrupted advances.
Lt Muntathar Al Jazair was leading a platoon against ISIL in Thawra on April 21 when a mortar smashed into the tarmac. A yellow, reeking smoke reached the officer, who was taken to hospital with four of his soldiers. Two of the men remain in hospital with severe burns. “We carry gas masks now. We might have to use them,” said Lt Al Jazair, who is back on the frontline in Hay Al Aiqtisadiiyn.
Federal police units supporting the fighters have also been hit, and Iraqi special operations, another elite unit, have been regularly targeted since April.
The two elite forces are leading an assault in the north-west that is pushing towards the river, isolating pockets of ISIL resistance to grind them down.
It is a slow, methodical advance to minimise losses after months of costly fighting.
As the Iraqis move forward, their units are finding the sites used by ISIL to produce its chemical weaponry. Workshops for home-made mortar shells, explosives and suicide vehicles lie scattered across the city.
“We found bomb factories in the east too, but not as many as in the west,” said Majid Naji, a bomb disposal expert. “Two times we discovered poison gas in these factories.”
At a base outside the city, Mr Naji shows one of ISIL’s stashes.
Glass bottles holding a dark, heavy liquid were carefully placed into a plastic bucket. A fuse was attached to the bottles, most of which had been wrapped in plastic to stop them spilling.
ISIL fighters were supposed to plant the poison gas bombs near Iraqi troops, light the fuse and make a quick escape, Mr Naji said. One bottle is enough to douse a whole neighbourhood in gas.
Suicide car bombs, a mainstay of ISIL’s defence of the city it took by storm in 2014, continue to be used in the battle to slow the Iraqi advance.
Their fuel tankers filled with explosives and oil have caused enormous destruction in the built-up residential areas of Mosul.
The insurgents are using civilians as human shields against coalition air strikes, and are preventing families from leaving areas under their control.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of civilians are still in Mosul’s old city, where the extremists are expected to make a last stand. In the densely packed centre, the use of poison gas is likely to have catastrophic consequences.
After battling the militants for almost three years all over Iraq, Lt Col Muhanned expects ISIL to make use of poison gas as the insurgents mount a fight to the death in the city’s historic core. “Daesh will use gas on us again,” he said.