Militants investigate bubonic plague
Documents show enthusiasm for virus that could be unleashed by grenade in crowded areas.
ISLAMIC STATE militants are try- ing to get hold of biological weapons and are studying ways of developing bubonic plague, raising fears that they are planning devastating attacks on civilians.
Documents found on a laptop belonging to an Isis fighter appear to show that the group has explored options to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Just as al Qaeda spent years trying to get such weapons, it appears that Isis, now the world’s richest terrorist organisation, has followed suit.
The computer was found at a former Isis hideout by fighters from a moderate Syrian rebel group, according to a report in Foreign Policy magazine. Hidden on it were instructions for developing biological weapons, including methods for breeding bubonic plague from infected animals for use in a weapon.
‘‘ The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge,’’ said one of the documents. It also set out plans to cause many casualties by releasing the disease in crowded areas. ‘‘Use small grenades with the virus and throw them in closed areas like metros, soccer stadiums or entertainment centres,’’ it said. ‘‘ Best to do it next to the airconditioning.’’
The laptop is thought to belong to a Tunisian jihadist, named only as Mohammed S, who studied chemistry and physics before joining the war in Syria in 2011. His fate remains unclear.
There is no evidence that Isis has yet acquired such weapons, but fears that it had increased last month when the group seized control of a former chemical weapons silo in Iraq.
The facility at Muthana was part of the weapons programme developed by former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein and was bombed during the first Gulf War and then sealed by the UN. It is believed that chemical agents still at the site have depleted and would be impossible to move.
The group’s wealth gives it greater opportunity to buy or develop new weapons, however. Isis has amassed a fortune estimated at more than £1.2 billion (NZ$2.4b) from robbery, corrup- tion, hostage-taking and lucrative pledges from shadowy donors in the Gulf. Syrian oil fields seized last year now deliver more than £1.2 million a day in revenues.
Isis pays its fighters about US$400 (NZ$480) a month, almost double the salaries of other militant groups, enabling it to attract recruits.
It is thought to have launched a rudimentary armed drone that was
The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge. From one of the documents found on a laptop belonging to an Isis fighter
recently shot down over Jordan.
Just as al Qaeda did before it, Isis claims religious justification for using weapons of mass destruction against civilians if it serves the group’s greater purpose. One of the documents retrieved from the laptop included a fatwa by the radical cleric Nasir al-Fahd, who was jailed in Saudi Arabia for inciting terrorism.
‘‘If Muslims cannot defeat the kafir in a different way, it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction. Even if it kills them all and wipes them and their descendants off the face of the Earth,’’ the cleric said.
A US intelligence source said individuals associated may have explored what it would take to produce biological weapons, but this does not necessarily mean the organisation is pushing to acquire them.
‘‘The possibility could seriously pursue a biological weapons capability is something we’re watching closely.’’
The revelation came amid evidence of fresh atrocities by the jihadists. A video posted online appears to show the beheading of a Kurdish soldier.
The video came with a warning to Kurdish forces to break off their alliance with the US. Other Kurdish prisoners of war were shown, dressed in orange jump suits and ready to be executed if the group’s message was ignored.
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