Twelve residents got injured in Iraqi city of Mosul from a chemical attack this. The injured show clinical symptoms consistent with an exposure to a blistering chemical agent.
The five children, three women and four men have symptoms that include blisters, coughing, redness in the eyes, irritation, and vomiting.
The World Health Organization has responded to the reported use of chemical weapons agents in eastern Mosul, activating an emergency response plan to treat those who may be exposed to the highly toxic chemicals.
In September last year, IS militants fired a rocket containing a mustard agent at American troops at Qayyarah air base near Mosul. There were no casualties reported.
They are also suspected of being behind suspected chemical attacks on Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.
IS is not the only actor in the region accused of using chemical weapons, with the Syrian government alleged to be behind a number of chlorine gas attacks on civilians during the country’s six-year long civil war.
The use of chlorine as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.