ISIS Can Now Produce Chemical Weapons
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עברית (Hebrew)
Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said that Islamic State had obtained the necessary scientific documentation for chemical weapons production.
“In particular, there’s information about ISIS getting scientific and technical documentation for production of chemical weapons, capture of chemical plants, recruitment of foreign experts for activities aiming to set up synthesis of chemical warfare agents,” Zakharova told a media briefing.
The spokesperson warned of the possibility of these chemical agents spreading outside of the territory controlled by ISIS and even beyond of the Middle East. Zakharova called on to the UN Security Council to react to the threat of trans-boundary terrorism.
An anonymous US official cited by the BBC believes Islamic State has formed a group to produce toxic chemicals such as mustard and chlorine gas.
Prior to the emergence of ISIS as a major force in Syria, the country’s chemical warfare arsenals were successfully evacuated and destroyed on a special vessel in the Mediterranean Sea following a deal negotiated with Russia and the US, which both took part in this operation. According to the BBC, the US intelligence community believes that most possibly Islamic State arranged for the production of chemical agents of their own. The BBC’s source also did not question the fact that the Syrian government handed over all of its 1,180 tons of declared chemical warfare stockpiles under the threat of US airstrikes in 2013. The process began in October 2013, and was completed by June 2014.
UN Security Council called for the creation of an inquiry that will seek to prosecute those behind chemical weapons attacks in Syria. A resolution was unanimously agreed by the 15-member council.
Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, expressed the hope that the experts appointed for the task will be professional and objective in their work.
“We believe the decision made today is primarily preventive in nature and it will help to ensure that no toxic chemicals will be used as weapons in the future in Syria,” he said.
