US Looking Into Whether Islamic State Used Chemical Weapons

[Purveyor]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The United States says it's looking into whether Islamic State militants used chemical weapons against Kurdish forces.

In recent days Kurdish fighters have alleged that IS may have used chemical weapons against them in an attack in northern Iraq. Similar reports had surfaced in July.

Alistair Baskey of the White House's National Security Council says the U.S. takes the allegations "very seriously" and is seeking more information. He says the U.S. is monitoring the reports closely and says any use of chemical or biological weapons would violate international standards and norms.

It is unclear where IS may have obtained chemical weapons. Diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and Russia following a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2013 led to the removal or destruction of the Syrian government's chemical weapons stockpiles.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-islamic-state-chemical-weapons-33072234

[MisterP]

1. didn't they use gas and then we tried to use that incident to invade Assad?

[BlueEye]

6. "The Incident" which very nearly spurred an American intervention was...

A Sarin gas attack by Assad's forces. There have been a variety of chemical weapon attacks by the al-Nusra Front and various other Syrian opposition forces, albeit with crude agents such as chlorine or anti-freeze. Literally anybody could walk to the local hardware store and assemble a "chemical weapon". But a nerve agent like Sarin requires immense chemical expertise and equipment to synthesize, and it's quite unlikely the opposition fighters could pull that off.

If al-Qaeda affiliated forces acquired Sarin, every Western government would probably be in full-on panic mode.

[icymist]

2. Amazing!

Forcing people to convert to their religion or face death, murdering women for not having sex with them, destroying archaeological wonders dating back to the beginning of recorded history, and beheading journalists for the whole world to see via the internet wasn't bad enough? This is where we draw the metaphorical line in the sand?!

[lordsummerisle]

3. Um

"any use of chemical or biological weapons would violate international standards and norms"...don't they already violate international standards and norms on a daily basis?
If they were found to be using chemical weapons what else could we do to them?

[Yupster]

4. They better not have used chemical weapons or we'll

draw a red line.

That will teach them.

[Mnemosyne]

5. Oh, the hypocrisy... nt