U.S. Investigating Report of Islamic State Using Chemical Weapons

The United States warned this week that the Islamic State may be in possession of chemical weapons after suspecting that the terrorist group used mustard gas on Kurdish forces in Iraq.

White House National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said the U.S. is investigating a claim by the German Defense Ministry that Kurdish fighters sustained injuries similar to those related to a chemical attack in a recent fight with Islamic State militants.

"We continue to take these and all allegations of chemical weapons use very seriously," Baskey said in a statement.

A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry added to the AFP that they "have indications that there was an attack with chemical weapons" against the Kurdish fighters, who reportedly suffered from "respiratory irritation" following the attack.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, it's possible the terrorist group obtained the mustard gas from the Syria government, which admitted to possessing the chemical weapon in 2013.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former commanding officer of the UK Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, wrote in a recent Op-Ed for The Telegraph that the Islamic State "has no boundaries in terms of their war of terror, and using chemical weapons is one of the ultimate ways of spreading fear and panic among their enemies."

Report of the alleged use of chemical weapons by the terror group comes shortly after the Islamic State released the personal information 1,400 American military and government personnel, encouraging lone wolf attacks in the U.S.