Iraqis: Guinea pigs for unconventional coalition bombs?
The international coalition has used unconventional bombs in their anti-IS operations, causing harm to Iraqis, according to a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, but other Iraqis remain skeptical.
3 min read
A home in Sinjar, Iraq, was destroyed by an airstrike on 16 November, 2016 [Getty]
Several states that are part of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group (IS) may have been testing new bombs and missiles in Iraq that have caused clear environmental effects in Tikrit, Baiji, and newly liberated Sinjar, an Iraqi Ministry of Defence official has claimed.
The Iraqi MoD official told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service: "[International] coalition aircraft belonging to several states (he did not name them) have tested bombs and missiles during their aerial operations against [IS] in Iraq, and information indicate that they had an environmental impact on civilians, animals, and plants in [the targeted] areas."
The Iraqi military intelligence colonel added that his department received three reports, one from military units on the ground and two from "independent local [monitoring] organisations," on the impact of bombs and missiles used by the international coalition forces in several towns and cities, including Tikrit, Sinjar, and Baiji.
The reports mention "burnt corpses," and "toxic gases" that were emitted after the bombs exploded, "suffocating animals" and "drying up plants," according to the same source.
Some bombs "affected blood vessels and caused cerebral haemorrhages for those within a 1000 metre radius" from the explosion, he added.
He pointed out that one of the reports confirms that the US and France had used such unconventional weapons but that "we don't have the necessary capabilities to continue with the investigation."
The head of the Iraqi civil society network Silm called on the government to allow experts to visit the areas that have been allegedly affected by the bombs.
Hussein al-Kadhimi told al-Araby al-Jadeed: "We can't say for sure and all we have are leaks and rumours that had been circulated by some military or civilian sources ... so the army and the relevant authorities should allow experts to visit [the allegedly affected towns] and monitor what is happening."
Iraqi lawmaker Ahmad al-Masari told al-Araby al-Jadeed's reporter Qassem al-Ali that he did not have any information about this matter, but he warned that banned or trial bombs should not be used in a way that would harm civilians "even if we want to defeat [IS] and need international support for that purpose."
It was not possible to get a statement from the US embassy in Baghdad because of the recent added security measures around the Green Zone in the capital.
Journalists now need prior authorisation from the forces in charge of protecting the zone in order to enter.
A member of the ruling National Alliance said the reports are not accurate and aim at disrupting the war on terror efforts.
Mohammad al-Moussawi said that getting rid of IS is a priority and that if the reports were true, then "there is no harm in it as long as we eradicate terrorism and return security to Iraq, provided they don't have side effects that would lead to environmental and health problems later on," as he said.
The Iraqi MoD official told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service: "[International] coalition aircraft belonging to several states (he did not name them) have tested bombs and missiles during their aerial operations against [IS] in Iraq, and information indicate that they had an environmental impact on civilians, animals, and plants in [the targeted] areas."
The Iraqi military intelligence colonel added that his department received three reports, one from military units on the ground and two from "independent local [monitoring] organisations," on the impact of bombs and missiles used by the international coalition forces in several towns and cities, including Tikrit, Sinjar, and Baiji.
The reports mention "burnt corpses," and "toxic gases" that were emitted after the bombs exploded, "suffocating animals" and "drying up plants," according to the same source.
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Some bombs "affected blood vessels and caused cerebral haemorrhages for those within a 1000 metre radius" from the explosion, he added.
He pointed out that one of the reports confirms that the US and France had used such unconventional weapons but that "we don't have the necessary capabilities to continue with the investigation."
The head of the Iraqi civil society network Silm called on the government to allow experts to visit the areas that have been allegedly affected by the bombs.
Hussein al-Kadhimi told al-Araby al-Jadeed: "We can't say for sure and all we have are leaks and rumours that had been circulated by some military or civilian sources ... so the army and the relevant authorities should allow experts to visit [the allegedly affected towns] and monitor what is happening."
Iraqi lawmaker Ahmad al-Masari told al-Araby al-Jadeed's reporter Qassem al-Ali that he did not have any information about this matter, but he warned that banned or trial bombs should not be used in a way that would harm civilians "even if we want to defeat [IS] and need international support for that purpose."
It was not possible to get a statement from the US embassy in Baghdad because of the recent added security measures around the Green Zone in the capital.
Journalists now need prior authorisation from the forces in charge of protecting the zone in order to enter.
A member of the ruling National Alliance said the reports are not accurate and aim at disrupting the war on terror efforts.
Mohammad al-Moussawi said that getting rid of IS is a priority and that if the reports were true, then "there is no harm in it as long as we eradicate terrorism and return security to Iraq, provided they don't have side effects that would lead to environmental and health problems later on," as he said.
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