Traces Of Mustard Gas Found On Mortars Fired By ISIS

Traces of mustard gas were reportedly found on over 50 mortars fired by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, during an attack that took place in Marea last Friday.

The assault lasted for about two hours, leaving 50 people wounded. On the other hand, at least 23 people showed indications of chemical exposure - coughing, vomiting, panting and experienced severe itching.

A spokesman from Shami Front, a Syrian rebel group, confirmed that the mortars were fired by the Islamic State group from Isnibil, a village in Marea controlled by the militants.

"At least half of the 50 mortar and artillery shells fired by ISIS contained poisonous mustard gas," Hussein Nasir said.

Nasir also added that a general, who has knowledge with chemical weapons, confirmed that the mortars fired by the militants contained sulfur mustard. The confirmation came after seeing the pictures and videos of the attack.

"The shells landed randomly on different parts of the city resulting in many injuries," Nasir added. "Some bad odor filled the air, and those who were exposed showed symptoms of suffocation, skin irritation and swelling."

Tariq Najjar, a nurse from Syrian American Medical Society, also said that there were patients who had "difficulty in breathing, severe headaches, a running nose, skin irritation and red teary eyes."

The attack by the militant group left one man dead, but reports say that was not yet confirmed if the casualty was caused by the poisonous weapons.

A military force said that, although not yet final, preliminary examinations revealed that the shells had traces of mustard gas.

The ISIS was first reported to have used mustard gas early this month during an attack against the Kurdish forces. They might have gotten it in Syria, where the government has confessed it - when agreeing to surrender its arsenal of chemical weapons - possessed large quantities two years ago.