UN experts have unearthed evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) during the era of its self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’, according to a report due to be discussed on Monday (December 5th). by the Security Council.
Members of Unitad, the investigative team tasked with bringing ISIS to account for its crimes, claim to have collected “testimonial, digital and documentary evidence” relating to the use of chemical weapons in Iraq under the “caliphate” (2014-2019).
Experts conclude that IS “manufactured and produced chemical rockets and mortars, chemical rocket launcher ammunition, chemical missile warheads and improvised explosive devices”. The investigation focused on “to the financing, supply and logistics of [l’EI] and its links with the command elements, [et cherchait à] know which were the alleged sites of manufacture, production and use of weapons in Iraq, to obtain additional information on the agents manufactured (…) and the vectors used”.
“Money Services”
The experts focused in particular on an attack perpetrated against the commune of Taza Khormatu on March 8, 2016. They claim to have collected “a significant amount of evidence”notably “payroll statements and items of correspondence” of the jihadist group. The team “examined evidence of compensation to families for the ‘martyrdom’ of their members killed while handling chemical weapons (…), and records of training provided (…) to senior officials on the use of chemical substances as weapons, including chemical dispersal devices”. Among the products used were “aluminum phosphide, chlorine, bacteria Clostridium botulinumcyanide, nicotine, ricin and thallium sulphate”. The report highlights “the medical complications currently suffered by residents of Taza Khormatu (chronic diseases, cancers and reproductive disorders, in particular)”.
The report also discusses other major crimes, including mass sexual violence, the persecution of the Christian community and other communities in Iraq, as well as the destruction of the country’s cultural and religious heritage.
Furthermore, with regard to the financing of IS, Unitad “significantly expanded its evidence base against those in money services business networks who provided logistical support to [l’organisation] and profited from its campaigns of violence”. According to her, “Functional links have been established between the networks in Mosul and Baghdad and the larger regional networks in the Middle East and the Gulf region”. Elements “demonstrate a close association” between the leaders of the jihadist group “and certain money services businesses, which have been complicit in extortion schemes [visant] the local population “.
The IS had established in June 2014 a “caliphate” in a vast region straddling Iraq and Syria. An international coalition, led by the United States, had fought the organization until the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by the Kurds, seized in March 2019 the last stronghold of the IS, Baghouz, in eastern Syria.