ISIS blows up chemical plant to stop Iraqi army's attacks on Mosul

Baghdad : After mercilessly killing almost 300 in Iraq’s Mosul city, ISIS terrorists have caused explosions and blown up a chemical plant containing Sulphur gas. ISIS caused this explosion to hinder the advancement of Iraqi and US armies. While two civilians were killed, thousands required hospitalisation. A warning that the ISIS would launch a chemical attack in Mosul was already issued prior to the incidence.

According to a senior official of the Iraqi army, the terrorists set ablaze the store of Sulphur from a chemical plant at al-Mishraq in Mosul city. The explosion gave rise to a thick yellow cloud of smoke. Locals had to face breathing problems due to this smoke. While some had to suffer from nasal bleeding, others suffered from severe hacking coughs. The civilians that were trying to exit Mosul have been rushed to nearby hospitals.

Due to these conditions, the Iraqi and US soldiers had to carry out their proceedings with ‘gas masks’. ISIS’s chemical attacks have slowed down the Iraqi army’s advancements in Mosul, said a senior Iraqi army official, General Qusay Hamid Kadhem. ISIS has launched similar chemical attacks in the past too. While targeting Iraqi civilians as well as Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces, the ISIS had launched a mustard gas attack. ISIS has managed to get their hands on chemical stores found in laboratories of universities and hospitals.

Also, ISIS has reportedly taken control of the locations where chemical bombs were being produced during Saddam Hussain’s regime. Warnings that ISIS is preparing to cause major destruction in Iraq by using these were also issued. But the US itself is divided into two groups based on their opinions about whether the ISIS is adequately equipped with chemical weaponry.

At the same time, the Turkish army has joined hands with Iraq in their conflict in Mosul. The Turkish government has published information that the Turkish tanks have launched attacks on ISIS’s locations in the Bashika area of Mosul. The Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim said that these attacks were launched after the Kurdish army asked for assistance in the conflict with ISIS. However, the Iraqi government is strongly opposed to Turkey‘s proceedings.