KIRKUK, Iraq (AA) – A two-year-old girl died at an Iraqi hospital on Friday after falling victim to a chlorine gas attack by the terrorist Daesh group in the northern province of Saladin.
“Fatma Samir was brought to our hospital two days ago when the chemical attack occurred,” Dr Ahmad Haydar, the chief of Tuz Khurmatu Hospital, said on Friday. “There were serious injuries in her respiratory system because of the heavy effects of the chemical weapons.”
“Unfortunately, the little one could only resist for two days,” he added.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Friday that the use of chemical weapons is a “hostile crime.”
“The use of chemical [weapons] by the terrorist Daesh organization, especially against children and women, during the attack against Tuz Khurmatu is a big and hostile crime against humanity,” al-Abadi said.
Activists said at least 30 of the town’s 300 residents suffered severe burns and suffocation following the chlorine gas attack.
“Daesh has used Mosul University to develop the chlorine gas used in Tuz Khurmatu,” Iraqi Turkmen Front President Arshad al-Salihi told Anadolu Agency.
Last month, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Daesh used mustard and chlorine gas in an attack on Kurdish peshmerga forces in 2015.
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