The use of chemical weapons by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant reinforces why the international coalition is assisting the Iraqi government to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, which continues to kill indiscriminately and is completely unencumbered by any legal or moral restraint.
“The enemy has used chemical weapons in the past, and we’re going to make sure we are taking every measure to mitigate the risk to our forces,” said Army Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, commander of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Operation Inherent Resolve. “Force protection is my No. 1 priority here.”
CJTF-OIR has five building partner capacity sites, which were instrumental in training Iraqi and peshmerga counterattack brigades for the Mosul offensive.
Part of their training included reacting to chemical attacks by ISIL and effectively using and fighting in their issued gas masks.
“The coalition is trained. We’ve trained the [Iraqis] and peshmerga; they’ve got equipment,” Volesky said. “We’re confident that as the enemy attempt to use a lot of means -- not just chemicals -- we’re targeting the training with the Iraqis and with the coalition to make sure we’re mitigating any risk of that threat.”
(Source: US Dept of Defense)
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