Serious charges. UN experts have uncovered evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Islamic State jihadist group during the era of its self-proclaimed “caliphate”, says a report due to be debated by the Security Council on Monday.
Members of Unitad, the investigative team responsible for helping to hold the Islamic State accountable for its crimes, claim to have collected “testimonial, digital and documentary evidence” relating in particular to the use of chemical weapons in Iraq under the caliphate (2014- 2019). ).
The experts conclude that the Islamic State “has manufactured and produced chemical rockets and mortars, chemical rocket launcher ammunition, chemical missile warheads, and improvised explosive devices.”
different substances
The investigation was particularly interested “in (ISIS) financing, supply and logistics and its links to command elements, to better understand what were the alleged sites of manufacturing, production and use of weapons in Iraq, to obtain more information” . information on the agents manufactured (…) and the vectors used”.
The experts focused in particular on an attack perpetrated against Taza Khormatu on March 8, 2016. They claim to have collected “a significant amount of evidence”, including “payroll sheets and items of correspondence” from the jihadist group.
The team “examined evidence of compensation from families for the ‘martyrdom’ of their members killed in the handling of chemical weapons (…) and records of training provided (…) to senior officials on the use of chemical substances as weapons , in particular chemical dispersion devices”.
Among the products used were “aluminum phosphide, chlorine, Clostridium botulinum bacteria, cyanide, nicotine, ricin, and thallium sulfate.”
The report highlights “the medical complications currently suffered by the residents of Taza Khormatu (chronic diseases, cancers and reproductive disorders, in particular).”
“Money Services”
It also looks at other major crimes, including mass sexual violence, the persecution of Iraq’s Christian community and other communities, as well as the destruction of cultural and religious heritage.
Furthermore, referring to ISIS funding, Unitad “has significantly increased its evidence base against those in commercial money services networks that provided logistical support to (ISIS) and profited from its campaigns of violence.”
According to her, “functional links have been established between the Mosul and Baghdad networks and the larger regional networks in the Middle East and the Gulf region.”
Oil exploitation?
The evidence “demonstrates a close association” between IS leaders “and certain money service companies, which were complicit in extortion schemes against the local population, in which they ensured the management and transfer of looted wealth.” The group has also begun to examine the “acquisition and exploitation” of Iraqi oil.
The jihadists had established a “caliphate” in June 2014 in a vast region that straddles Iraq and Syria. An international coalition, led by the United States, had fought the organization until the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized the last IS stronghold, Baghouz (eastern Syria), in March 2019, signing the end of the “caliphate”.
Source: BFM TV
