Chlorine truck bombs sicken hundreds of Iraqis

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Two suicide bombings involving toxic chlorine gas in Fallujah sickened 350 Iraqis and six U.S. troops, the U.S. military said Saturday, and another smaller bomb attack near Ramadi also released chlorine gas.

Hospital sources said earlier that eight people had been killed and dozens made ill after chlorine gas was released in the two bombings Friday in Fallujah, in the western province of Anbar.

The attacks appeared to mark a stepped-up campaign by insurgents to use unconventional weapons, after two bombings involving chlorine killed eight people earlier this year.

The U.S. military said they discovered an al-Qaida car bomb factory last month near Fallujah that was constructing bombs with chlorine. The gas causes severe burns when breathed in and can cause death.

Suicide attacks
Friday’s two bombs in Fallujah occurred within the space of 40 minutes in the early evening and both involved suicide bombers driving dump trucks.

In the first, near the town of Amiriya, two Iraqi police were killed and up to 100 Iraqis showed signs of chlorine exposure, with symptoms ranging from minor skin and lung irritation to vomiting, the U.S. statement said.

Soon afterwards a suicide bomber detonated a dump truck containing a 200-gallon chlorine tank rigged with explosives around 3 miles south of Fallujah.

“Coalition Forces responded to the attack and found approximately 250 local civilians suffering from symptoms related to chlorine exposure,” the U.S. statement said.

“Of those affected by the attack, four adults and seven children were evacuated to Coalition medical facilities for further treatment,” it said.

Saddam's use of chemical weapons
Earlier on Friday, another smaller bomb using chlorine detonated at a checkpoint northeast of Ramadi, wounding one U.S. soldier and one Iraqi civilian.

“Suicide car bombers have used chlorine against Iraqis in Al Anbar a total of five times since January 28,” the statement said.

Chlorine gas was used as a weapon in World War One but its use in guerrilla attacks in Iraq has particular resonance for Iraqis. Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on Kurdish areas in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.

Hospital sources said one of the Fallujah attacks targeted the entrance to a large housing complex south of Fallujah, killing six people including policemen, while the second bomber targeted a tribal leader opposed to al-Qaida.

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