US Airstrike Kills ISIS Chemical Weapons Expert

Mission near Mosul took out Abu Malik, who worked under Saddam
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 30, 2015 5:29 PM CST
US Airstrike Kills ISIS Chemical Weapons Expert
File photo of a simulated chemical weapons attack at Fort Gordon, Ga.   (AP Photo/The Augusta Chronicle, Jon-Michael Sullivan)

The Pentagon is claiming a big kill within ISIS: An airstrike last weekend near the Iraqi town of Mosul took out a top chemical weapons expert with the Islamic State, reports NBC News. US Central Command says the airstrike killed Abu Malik, a chemical weapons engineer under Saddam Hussein who went on to join al-Qaeda before teaming with ISIS. Still, the statement says his death will only "temporarily degrade" the Islamic State's ability to pursue chemical weapons. The airstrike came from the US, not another member of the coalition, reports Stars and Stripes. (More Islamic State stories.)

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