The Islamic State fired a shell with a mustard agent at U.S. and Iraqi troops stationed at the Qayyarah air base in Iraq on Tuesday afternoon, the Pentagon has confirmed.
“It was rocket that was fired, and it has an “oily tar-like substance” on one of the fragment,” a military official at U.S. Central Command told the Washington Examiner. “An initial filed test was POSITIVE for Mustard agent, but a second more sophisticated test was NEGATIVE. So the fragment is undergoing further testing, but the level of concern is not as high as when the first reports came in.”
No U.S. or coalition service members were injured and no service members showed signs or symptoms of mustard exposure.
“This attack has not impacted our mission in any way, nor have we changed our security posture in the area around Qayyarah. We are well trained and equipped for this, as are our ISF and Peshmerga partners,” a Pentagon official told the Examiner.
Following the attack on the fort, just south of Mosul, the shell tested positive for a chemical agent, likely mustard. One official said the shell was either a rocket or artillery shell, but added it was “poorly weaponized.”
The Islamic State has been in the process of developing a chemical agent. Pentagon officials said the attack, though the first of its kind by this specific group, did not catch them off guard. U.S. troops have joined alongside Iraqi forces in a push toward Mosul in an effort to regain the city from the terrorist organization.
The U.S. has previously struck some of the Islamic State’s mustard agent manufacturing sites.
Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.
