Crossfire War – Chemical Weapons Now Used By Insurgents – Iraq

Crossfire War – Tehran – Baghdad – Riyadh – Damascus Watch – West Asia Theatre: Tehran – Damascus – Ankara – Riyadh – Baghdad/London – Washington; Islamic Fighters in Iraq Using Chemical Truck Bombs – Chlorine Gas

Night Watch: BAGHDAD – “The material used is poisonous. During the explosion it changes into a mist that spreads through the air, causing poisoning in the breathing system, breathing difficulties and acute coughing.” That is a quote from Qais Abdulwahab Director of Kadhimiya Hospital, on the new chemical weapon AFP reports Islamic fighters are now using, trucks rigged with a chlorine gas canister. It was only a matter of time before Tehran had the Islamic units supplied with chemical weapons. This year Iran has upgraded the weaponry supplied by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Consequently Allied helicopters are now being shot down more regularly and now chemical weaponry. Tehran has an enormous variety in its stockpile. [ASHARQALAWSAT]

Abdulwahab continued, “It’s the first time we have seen such posioning cases.” It is similar to severe internal burns if one drinks chlorine based detergent. 90 cases were treated at Khadhimiya after Tuesday’s attack, 7 died then 21 more on Wednesday. A medical official, Abu Murtadha at the Martyr Mohammad Bagin al-Hakim Hospital in Shula, said 66 cases were treated after the Taji blast. All of them survived. Only nuclear weapons can cause more terror than chemical.

The last time chemical weapons were used was during the 1980-88 Iran/Iraq War by Iraq. Saddam Hussein used them against Kurdish villages that revolted against him, with the town of Halabjah in Iraqi Kurdistan hit especially hard. It had been captured by Iran and was bombed on March 16, the last year of the war, with chemical weapons. Traces of mustard gas were found in the soil. Iraq chemical artillery shells were also found on battlefields. Identification on them revealed they had been manufactured in Spain. There are binary chemical artillery shells composed of two different compounds which aren’t combined until just before firing.

Iran has all this and more in its inventory and it is at the Jihad’s disposal. This may be the reason the Shi’ite Mahdi Army, under Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has been told to lay low for a while. Perhaps Tehran had them lay low while they were being supplied with these chemical weapons.

www.crossfirewar.com

Willard Payne
Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.