International watchdog investigation finds Islamic State used mustard gas in 2015 attack in Syria

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international investigative team says that its probe into a 2015 attack in Syria found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Islamic State group used mustard gas. The conclusion Thursday is the latest finding of use of poison gas and nerve agents in Syria’s grinding civil war. The report by the Investigation and Identification team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says that mustard gas, also known as sulfur mustard, was used during attacks on Sept. 1, 2015, as Islamic State attacked the town of Marea. The investigation “established that the chemical payload was deployed by artillery from areas under the control of” the Islamic State group.