Iraq: Chlorine as a Matter of Concern

Chlorine is suspected to have been used in a May 15 car bombing in Iraq — this time in Abu Saydah, a Shiite village in Diyala province. If this latest attack did involve chlorine, the uncertainty over its use a day later suggests the chemical effects still are not reaching particularly lethal levels. This is a further indication that there has been no major shift in insurgent/jihadist capability in this regard. Nevertheless, the perpetuation of the trend is a matter of concern.