Western media linking chlorine attacks to 'al Qaeda'[edit]
In February 2007, a U.S. military spokesman said that ‘al Qaeda propaganda material’ had been found at a factory for chlorine chemical weapons in Karma, east of Fallujah, which led press agency Reuters to the conclusion that that “chlorine bomb factory was al Qaeda's”.[2]
October 21, 2006: A car bomb carrying 12 120 mm mortar shells and two 100-pound chlorine tanks detonated, wounding three Iraqi policemen and a civilian in .[3]
Ramadi
February 19, 2007: A suicide bombing in Ramadi involving chlorine killed two Iraqi security forces and wounded 16 other people.
[4]
February 20, 2007: A bomb blew up a tanker carrying chlorine north of , killing nine and emitting fumes that made 148 others ill, including 42 women and 52 children.[5]
Baghdad
February 21, 2007: A pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders exploded in Baghdad, killing at least five people and hospitalizing over 50.
[4]
March 16, 2007: Three separate suicide attacks on this day used chlorine. The first attack occurred at a checkpoint northeast of Ramadi when a truck bomb wounded one US service member and one Iraqi civilian. A second truck bomb detonated in , killing two policemen and leaving a hundred Iraqis showing signs of chlorine exposure. Forty minutes later, yet another chlorine-laden truck bomb exploded at the entrance to a housing estate south of Falluja, this time injuring 250 and according to some reports killing six.[6][7]
Falluja
March 28, 2007: Suicide bombers detonated a pair of truck bombs, one containing chlorine, as part of a sustained attack aimed at the Fallujah Government Center. The initial bombings along with a subsequent gun battle left 14 American forces and 57 Iraqi forces wounded.[9]
[8]
April 6, 2007: A chlorine-laden suicide truck bomb detonated at a police checkpoint in Ramadi, leaving 27 dead. Thirty people were hospitalized with wounds from the explosion, while many more suffered breathing difficulties attributed to the chlorine gas.
[10]
April 25, 2007: A chlorine truck bomb detonated at a military checkpoint on the western outskirts of Baghdad, killing one Iraqi and wounding two others.
[11]
April 30, 2007: A tanker laden with chlorine exploded near a restaurant west of Ramadi, killing six people and wounding 10.
[12]
June 3, 2007: A car bomb exploded outside a U.S. military base in Diyala, unleashing a noxious cloud of chlorine gas that sickened at least 62 soldiers but caused no serious injuries.
[17]
2007 Iraq cholera outbreak
Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)
Associated Press
Chlorine gas attacks hint at new enemy strategy
BBC News
Concern over Iraqi chemical bombs
CNN