Iraq faces 'dirty bomb' threat

2007-02-22 14:58

Baghdad - As a joint operation by US and Iraqi troops to win control of Baghdad made more progress on Thursday, their insurgent foes were fighting back with deadly new tactics, including poison gas attacks.

Iraqi medics were treating dozens of patients poisoned by chlorine after militants targeted civilian areas with trucks rigged up as dirty bombs, said Qais Abdulwahab, director of the Kadhimiya Hospital.

The use of chlorine and anti-aircraft tactics has underlined what US commanders say is the insurgents' main strength - their ability to rapidly adapt their strategy.

"One of the things we see as we deal with this is that, as one technique works in one part of the country, we tend to see copycat attacks in other parts of the country," said US spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver.

On Tuesday, a truck carrying chlorine gas exploded in Taji, just north of Baghdad, killing six people on the spot but also poisoning scores more as the toxic gas spread through the area, overcoming women and children.

On Wednesday, the dirty bombers struck again, in the suburbs of Baghdad, in a less successful attack that nevertheless spread panic.

Car bomb tactics adapted

"The material used is poisonous," said Abdulwahab. "During the explosion it changes into a mist that spreads through the air, causing poisoning in the breathing system, breathing difficulties and acute coughing.

"It's the first time we have seen such poisoning cases," he told AFP, comparing the injuries to the internal burns suffered by children who drink chlorine-based cleaning products.

"They've adapted the car bomb tactic," Garver said. "It shows some of the maliciousness with which they are adapting those tactics.

"It was not a chlorine tanker it was just a tank in the back of a truck. The use of canisters with something in them is not new, they've tried using regular acetylene tanks to increase the size of the explosive," he said.

"So that's not new, we do look for canisters already, but obviously we are going to pay more attention now to any kind of canister," he said.

- AFP