ISIS beheads, burns alive, stones, rapes, and kidnaps anyone that does not conform to their interpretation of Islam, so it’s no surprise that they are using chemical weapons…
Reports from the battlefield in Mosul state that casualties are coming into the various aid stations and hospitals with symptoms of chemical weapon exposure. It is not immediately clear who launched the attacks, but media reports indicate that the mortar shells came from western Mosul, which is still controlled by ISIS militants.
ISIS does not have the sophistication to produce modern chemical warfare agents, so they are reverting to crude chemical weapons such as mustard gas, ammonia, and chlorine based contaminants.
As the Iraqi forces, supported by American Special Forces and US air strikes, have moved to push ISIS out of Iraq, the battle has focused on Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. The fight for western Mosul is raging. After taking eastern Mosul back from the ISIS insurgents, the Iraqi forces regrouped and launched the battle for the liberation of all of Mosul. With the streets of this ancient city being as narrow as they are, modern armored vehicles have a tough time operating. These conditions force Iraqi troops to engage the ISIS forces on foot, alley to alley, and house to house.
To fight the advances of Iraqi forces, ISIS fighters have started to use to a scorched earth tactic. They are fighting with suicide bombers, both on foot and with vehicles (VBID)s. In the effort to wage a last stand battle and do as much damage as possible, the forces of ISIS have started using crude chemical weapons.
During my career in the military, one of my duties was chemical decontamination and Recon Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) for my unit. It was a dangerous and dirty job. Due to my experience, I know training and protective equipment are paramount to survival in chemical environments, and Iraqi troops will have to come up to speed quickly to operate in a chemically contaminated battlefield effectively. The use of these crude chemical weapons by ISIS will hinder the advance of the Iraqi forces into Mosul, which is the objective of ISIS.
It is undetermined how the militants obtained these weapons, such as mustard gas, chlorine, and ammonia; but it is surmised they were seized from Syrian government stockpiles and transferred to the Iraqi battlefield. Another possibility comes from former CIA director John Brennan, who stepped down in January, when he said in an interview last year with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the Islamic State was thought to have “the ability to manufacture small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas.” That appears to be what the ISIS fighters are using.
The UN World Health Organization said in a statement that it activated “an emergency response plan to safely treat men, women, and children exposed to highly toxic chemical attacks.” Under this emergency response effort by the WHO, partners and local health authorities are assisting in the efforts.
Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, called for an investigation.
“This is horrible. If the alleged use of chemical weapons is confirmed, this is a serious violation of the international humanitarian law and a war crime, regardless of who the targets or the victims of the attacks are.”
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 issued by the organization, it has trained over 120 clinicians and provided field decontamination equipment to local hospitals. It also said the use of chemical weapons had deteriorated the humanitarian situation in western Mosul, “where innocent civilians are already facing unimaginable suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict.”
The chemical weapons attack was also confirmed and condemned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The symptoms of the patients treated at Rozhawa Hospital in Erbil included “blisters, redness in the eyes, irritation, vomiting, and coughing,” the ICRC said, adding that its medical teams dispatched to hospitals around Mosul have trained local staff on how to decontaminate and treat patients exposed to chemical agents.
“The ICRC condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons during fighting around the Iraqi city of Mosul. The use of chemical weapons is prohibited under international humanitarian law. We are deeply alarmed by what our colleagues have seen, and we firmly condemn any use of chemical weapons, by any party, anywhere,” the ICRC’s regional director for the Middle East, Robert Mardini, said.
Why are we surprised? The WHO and ICRC have no power in this fight. They are not in any capacity to intervene. The protest of war crimes by these organizations has no effect. ISIS beheads, burns alive, stones, rapes, and kidnaps whoever they want as a policy of their jihad against anything and anyone that does not conform to their interpretation of Islam. There is no justification for the actions ISIS is taking, and wagging a finger at ISIS is useless.
The forces of Iraq must prevail in this effort. In this situation, anything short of victory will foretell the destruction of Iraqi troops and the country of Iraq, which will eventually spiral into conditions worse than medieval. There are few choices here, and we as the US must ensure the destruction of ISIS. If that requires supporting the Iraqi troops’ victory, so be it. In this case, the Iraqis are fighting for freedom from the religious fanaticism of ISIS, a perverted form of Islam. Here, the Iraqis are fighting the good fight, and we should support and ensure their victory. Doing so will hasten the destruction of the plague that is ISIS.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
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