SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
IS accused of chemical attack
The Turkish army for the first time accuses Islamic State of attacking rebels with chemical weapons
Istanbul — Twenty-two pro-Ankara Syrian rebels were hit by an Islamic State (IS) gas attack in northern Syria, the Turkish army said on Sunday, the first time Turkey has accused the jihadists of chemical warfare. Observers, including the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), have previously accused IS of using mustard gas in Syria and described the possibility as extremely worrying. "After a rocket was fired by Daesh (IS), 22 opposition members were observed to have been exposed in their eyes and bodies to chemical gas," the general staff said in a statement, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency. It said the attack happened in the area of the village of Khaliliya, east of Al Rai in northern Syria, where the pro-Ankara fighters backed by Turkish special forces and air power are battling to dislodge the jihadists from the border area.
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