Russia stalls on assigning blame for Syria chemical attacks
(Worthy News) – Russia is holding up Security Council approval to establish a new international body to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria’s deadly conflict for the first time.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency in September, told reporters Wednesday that Russia had questions about the proposal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
He also raised the possibility that the council might need a new resolution to deal with allegations that the Islamic State extremist group has used chemical weapons including mustard gas in neighboring Iraq. [ Source ]
Pentagon Confirms Islamic State Use of Chemical Arms
Defense intelligence agencies have confirmed that Islamic State terrorists have used chemical weapons in attacks in Iraq and Syria, according to defense officials.
Pentagon officials are aware of rocket and mortar attacks using the blistering agent mustard after samples from four locations in the region were analyzed, said defense officials familiar with details of the assessment.
Few details have been released of the confirmed use of chemical arms. However, officials said the chemical agent appears to have been manufactured from chemicals obtained by the Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS or ISIL, and did not appear to be from current or older chemical weapons stockpiles kept in either Syria or Iraq. [ Source ]