Rebel possession of chemical weapons

Rebels admit to using chemical weapons?
There are many claims of the rebels admitting to using or possessing chemical weapons. Here is one such video: -- Petri Krohn (talk) 12:23, 7 September 2013 (UTC)
 * SYRIA Jihadist Admits To Having & Using Toxic Gas, Justifies Killing Women & Children – VexZeen, Aug 30, 2013

So this is a second story, not a new find: Video: Syrian Rebel Admits Using Chemical Weapons --Caustic Logic (talk) 23:25, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

Arrests in Turkey

 * Report: Police foil al-Nusra bomb attack planned for Adana - Today’s Zaman, May 20, 2013
 * Turkey finds sarin gas in homes of suspected Syrian Islamists – reports – RT, May 30, 2013, updated September 14, 2013
 * Syrian rebel groups sought to buy materials for chemical weapons, prosecutors say – Doğan News Agency, Hurriyet Daily News, September 12, 2013
 * ''A public prosecutor completed his indictment as part of the probe into the chemicals seized in the southern province of Hatay on Sept. 12, claiming that jihadist Syrian rebel groups were seeking to buy materials that could be used to produce highly toxic sarin gas.
 * ''The indictment, which included transcripts of several phone conversations between the suspects involved, said that a 35-year-old Syrian citizen, identified as Hytham Qassap, established a connection with a network in Turkey in order to procure chemical materials for the al-Nusra Front and jihadist Ahrar al-Sham Brigades.
 * ''The indictment rejected the legitimacy of the suspects’ claim that they were unaware the chemicals they tried to obtain could be used to produce sarin gas.
 * ''The indictment also contained Qassap’s testimony where he confessed his links with the Ahrar al-Sham Brigades and moved to the city of Antakya following the instructions of its leader, Abu Walid. “After I arrived in Antakya, other rebel groups had come into contact with me. While some had asked me for medicine and other humanitarian aid supplies, others wanted to obtain military equipment,” he told prosecutors.
 * ''A total of 11 people were arrested during the investigation launched late May after police received a tip suggesting that some Syrian rebel groups were looking to procure materials that could be used to produce chemical weapons.
 * U.S. MILITARY CONFIRMS REBELS HAD SARIN – F. MICHAEL MALOOF, WDN, September 12, 2013
 * ''Classified document shows deadly weapon found in home of arrested Islamists
 * ''In a classified document just obtained by WND, the U.S. military confirms that sarin was confiscated earlier this year from members of the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, the most influential of the rebel Islamists fighting in Syria.
 * ''The document says sarin from al-Qaida in Iraq made its way into Turkey and that while some was seized, more could have been used in an attack last March on civilians and Syrian military soldiers in Aleppo.
 * ''It revealed that AQI had produced a “bench-scale” form of sarin in Iraq and then transferred it to Turkey.
 * ''A U.S. military source said there were a number of interrogations as well as some clan reports as part of what the document said were “50 general indicators to monitor progress and characterize the state of the ANF/AQI-associated Sarin chemical warfare agent developing effort.”
 * Iran regrets US ignorance of warning on chemical arms in Syria, Press TV, September 12, 2013
 * Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed regret that the United States ignored the Islamic Republic’s warning on the access by militant groups fighting in Syria to dangerous chemical weapons.
 * “We have indications and we have shared those indications in the past with the United States and with others … [that] extremely dangerous chemical weapons were being smuggled into Syria to armed groups that are fighting the Syrian people and the Syrian government,” Zarif told Press TV in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
 * The Iranian minister noted that “unfortunately” the US did not give any response to Iran’s warning.
 * Turkish prosecutor indicts six jihadists for alleged attempts to acquire chemicals with intent to produce sarin – The Kurdish Cause, September 12, 2013
 * Turkey intercepts chemical shipment from Syria – al Akhbar, November 4, 2013
 * ''Turkish authorities have seized a large quantity of chemicals from a convoy trying to illegally enter the country from Syria, which "could be transformed into weapons," the army said Sunday.
 * Turkey indicts 11 linked with Syria militants caught with sarin gas – PressTV, September 14, 2013
 * Syria Rebels Ordered 10 Tons of Sarin Nerve Agent in Turkey – FNA, September 14, 2013

Suspects released & cover-up

 * CHP deputies: Gov’t rejects probe into Turkey’s role in Syrian chemical attack - Today's Zaman, October 21, 2015
 * ''Erdem also noted that the prosecutor's office conducted detailed technical surveillance and found that an al-Qaeda militant, Hayyam Kasap, acquired sarin, adding: "Wiretapped phone conversations reveal the process of procuring the gas at specific addresses as well as the process of procuring the rockets that would fire the capsules containing the toxic gas. However, despite such solid evidence there has been no arrest in the case. Thirteen individuals were arrested during the first stage of the investigation but were later released, refuting government claims that it is fighting terrorism," Erdem noted.
 * Turkish Whistleblowers Corroborate Seymour Hersh Report of False Flag Sarin Gas Attack in Syria - Peter Lee, October 21, 2015
 * EXCLUSIVE: Sarin materials brought via Turkey & mixed in Syrian ISIS camps – Turkish MP to RT - RT, Dec 14, 2015
 * Eren Erdem: IŞİD sarin gazını Türkiye’den aldı - Çağdaş Ses, Dec 14, 2015
 * Turkish MP faces treason charges after telling RT ISIS used Turkey for transiting sarin - RT, Dec 16, 2015

OPCW
I am reading this summary of the New York Times article by Finian Cunningham: What Cunningham is saying, and what I also inferred from between the lines, is that the Syrian government has admitted to the OPCW that is has lost control of one or more of its chemical weapons storage sites. The implication is that ISIL / al-Nusra Front / Liwa al-Islam now has access to unlimited supplies of sarin, far more than would be needed for the Ghouta CW attack. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 22:55, 17 October 2013 (UTC)
 * West toxic lie on Syria exposed – Finian Cunningham, PressTV, October 17, 2013


 * Well, it has turned out quickly that most of the stocks are of unweaponized "precursors" which might rot in some underground facilities the "rebels" might not have access to even when they hang around on the airfield on the surface ... so maybe it's not that dramatic, but I also have a hard time imagining how the process of visiting those sites should function. --CE (talk) 23:15, 17 October 2013 (UTC)


 * November 2013:
 * Syrian chemical weapons likely to be destroyed abroad - Russia – RT, November 01, 2013
 * ''OPCW experts have so far visited 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across Syria. The two remaining facilities are currently too dangerous to visit due to military action between government forces and Islamist rebels.
 * ''According to the watchdog, chemical equipment from the unvisited facilities was moved to sites where the inspections were performed.

RT's Oksana Boyko interviews Sigrid Kaag, the former (because of successful result against all odds) head of the UN-OPCW mission for the dismantling of Syria's chemical weapons. Now that's an impressive person. Some insights into behind-the-scenes diplomacy that counters the daily doom & gloom in the usual reporting about geopolitics. --CE (talk) 22:32, 27 November 2014 (UTC)
 * November 2014:

September 2014

 * Dozens of Daesh-ISIS terrorists killed while they were filling rockets with chlorine gas – Syrian Free Press, September 20, 2014
 * ''Dozens of terrorists of Daesh-ISIS mercenary gangs were killed this week, on Tuesday 16/9, near Baghdad when a rocket whose warhead they were filling with chlorine gas exploded.
 * ''An Iraqi security source said that seven more terrorists were injured in the incident, which occurred near the town of al-Dhuluiya, about 90 km north of Baghdad.
 * ''In Al-Dhuluiya also four members of the Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen suffered symptoms of asphyxiation after inhaling chlorine gas released by two improvised explosive devices.
 * Enemy at the gates: Turkish war machine watches ISIS battle Kurds for Kobani – RT, October 13, 2014
 * Mustard gas of chlorine?

2015

 * Images back claims of ISIS chemical weapons attack in Iraq - CBC News, Sep 12, 2015
 * Islamic State using chemical weapons in Iraq & Syria – report - RT, 11 Sep, 2015
 * Украинские специалисты производят химоружие для ИГ на территории Турции (Ukrainian specialists produce chemical weapons for the IS in Turkey) - pravosudija.net, September 2015
 * ISIS militants in Iraq, Syria have WMD components, Lavrov warns UN Security Council - RT, 30 Sep, 2015

2016

 * Daesh Uses Chemical Weapons in Syria With 'Very High' Probability - Moscow - Sputnik, January 5, 2016
 * How the Islamic State Seized a Chemical Weapons Stockpile, Harald Doornbos and Jenan Moussa, Foreign Policy, August 17, 2016
 * This is Where Syrian Rebels Obtain Chemical Weapons - Sputnik, November 12, 2016
 * ISIS Used Chemical Arms at Least 52 Times in Syria and Iraq, Report Says - Eric Schmitt, The New York Times, November 21, 2016
 * EXCLUSIVE: Sputnik Reports From Terrorist Chemical Factory in Aleppo (VIDEO) - ''Sputnik, December 29, 2016
 * Lizzie Phelan reports from the site of mass chlorine production, apparently, using the potassium permanganate method. Much was used, and there was a lot still on hand. It appears by the labels to have been sold to Syria (government) and stolen by rebels thereafter, rather than imported through any "rat line." There are no clear signs it was used as a gas chamber for on-site executions.
 * Although this could be made here and transported anywhere, but the location is still of some interest. If we know of any reports giving the area, and can geo-locate it, that might be handy. There was an earlier video from Lizzie showing more of the drive around, perhaps the same or a different day. If anyone has this, it should be added.

2017

 * Saudi-Made Chemical Weapons Were Delivered to Al Qaeda Rebels in Aleppo, Discovered by Syrian Forces - Alwaght, via Global Research, January 11, 2017
 * Bags of material from Saudi company Sachlo were found in liberated areas - believed to be chlorine-related (company makes chlorine and aluminum)
 * Saudi King Sanctioned Chemical Weapons Use in Syria - Steven Sahiounie, AH Tribune, January 16, 2017
 * Long timeline of facts and allegations, some perhaps new to us. In particular, under Summer, 2012, is this detailed entry:
 * Zahran Alloush, the late commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan’s personal brigade in Syria) was one of the terrorists who had close relationship with Saudi intelligence services. Alloush was an expert in rocket attacks, and he bought 500 kilos sarin gas and cyanide, with an officer named Ayhan in the Turkish intelligence agency, from one of the countries of the Caucasus and an Eastern European country.  He transferred these chemicals through Turkey into Syria. Saudi officials paid the cost of buying toxic gases through the local staff of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, to the sellers of toxic gases account. The chemical gases were transferred to Turkey and Lebanon.  The four cargoes came under the guise of petrochemicals into Syria. One cargo from Turkey and three others from North Lebanon were transferred with the help of a political character associated with Saudi Arabia.
 * Original story about Saudi role and Alloush importing sarin appeared on two websites (veteranstoday.com and middleeastpress.com) on 29 August 2016. Both sites are conduits for Iranian disinformation. The story doesn't add up, but its recycling may be a sign that Iran and its allies want Saudi, rather than Turkey, to be blamed when the CW false flag story breaks. Pmr9 (talk) 00:03, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

2018

 * Tip-off received on Al-Nusra, White Helmets plotting chemical weapons provocation in Syria – Moscow - RT, February 13, 2018
 * ''Late on Monday, the center received a phone call from a resident of the village of Serakab in Idlib province about the planned incident. According to the source, on the afternoon of February 12, rebels from the Jabhat Al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) terrorist organization brought three cars packed with more than 20 cylinders of chlorine along with personal protective equipment to Serakab. Additionally, according to the caller, representatives of the local branch of the White Helmets, wearing individual means of protection, conducted rehearsals of "giving first aid" to "local residents" who were supposedly suffering from poisoning.
 * Toxic substances found in opposition forces stronghold – Syrian gov’t - AMN, March 11, 2018
 * Breaking: Syrian Army uncovers large chemical facility belonging to East Ghouta militants (photos) - AMN, March 13, 2018
 * 40 tons of chemical weapons left by militants found in Syria – Russian MoD - RT, March 21, 2018
 * "Chemical weapons" = chemicals found in an weapons laboratory.
 * Российские военные вышли на след организаторов провокации с химатакой в Сирии (Russian military find the organizers of the chemical weapons provocation in Syria) - Alexey Golovko, TV Zveda, April 17, 2018
 * ''Discovered substances, such as thiodiglycol, diethanolamine, needed to produce sulphurous and nitrogen mustard. In addition, a cylinder with chlorine, similar to that used by militants for setting up a replicated fake plot, was found in the warehouse. It can be concluded that this laboratory was used by illegal armed formations for the production of poisonous substances.
 * Video from underground laboratory.

Islamic State

 * ISIS Has Fired Chemical Mortar Shells, Evidence Indicates - C. J. Chivers, The New York Times, July 17, 2015 (archive)
 * ''Based on laboratory results provided by Kurdish medical officials in Qamishli, where the afflicted fighters were treated and tested, the research groups said they tentatively concluded that the shells contained phosphine, a chemical sometimes used to fumigate stored grains.
 * Testing Shows Islamic State Used Chemical Weapons During August 2015 — U.S. military field test - David Alexander, August 21, 2015
 * Media reported capture of stocks of sarin by IS militants (Rus.), google translate (Eng.), TV Zvezda, December 19, 2015 (unverified)
 * Quoting RT-Arabic interview of "Ahmed Gaddafi", apparently  Ahmed Gaddafi al-Dam, as another  Ahmed Gaddafi, also a cousin of Muammar Gaddafi, was killed in 2011. The article is not seen on front pages of RT-Arabic at the time of writing, but appeared on Rusvesna and TV Zvezda (the latter a Russian nationwide TV network run by the Russian Ministry of Defense, according to Wikipedia).
 * ''"IS managed to find in the desert several secret underground storages, where chemical weapons were still held. Unfortunately, the warehouses were not properly protected," - he told reporters. According to him, the militants trafficked stolen gas to the north of Libya and sold it. "I know of two cases of theft of sarin, which I was told my sources in Tripoli. In the first case we are talking about seven tanks with sarin, in the second - five ", - said Ahmed al-Gaddafi.
 * Coalition planes destroy IS chemical factory near Mosul - AFP, September 13, 2016
 * ''The production center -- a converted pharmaceutical plant complex -- likely made chlorine or mustard gas, said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.
 * ISIS used chemical weapons at least 52 times in Iraq and Syria, analysis shows - Newsweek, November 22, 2016
 * CW Use in Terrorist Attacks - Dr Jean Pascal Zanders, Centre of Excellence – Defence Against Terrorism, Ankara, 11 – 15 April 2016
 * ''ISIL’s resort to toxic chemicals in Syria and Iraq
 * Islamic State's tryst with chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq - Animesh Roul, CBW Magazine, Volume: 10, July-December 2017
 * ''In April 2016 the Islamic State group used mustard gas on Assad regime troops at an air base near the city of Deir el-Zour.6 Again between September and December 2016, chemical agents, mostly sulphur mustard, were used by the Islamic State group against targets in Aleppo and Hama Governorates. The last reported chemical attack by the Islamic State in Syria occurred in Talla al-Maqri, Aleppo in January this year (2017).

Chlorine

 * With Friends Like These: US Stalls Kurdish Offensive Against Daesh in Iraq - ''Sputnik, February 12, 2016
 * ''Sometime after the interview, d’Aymée also sent word that Daesh had deployed chemical weapons against his unit.
 * ''"Daesh started shelling us with makeshift chlorine shells, and we only have medical masks for protection,” he wrote. “The medics were working all night. I hope that answers your question about the use of chemical weapons by Daesh."

Mustard gas

 * Apr 5, 2016. Reports (quoting Sky News Arabia) that IS used mustard gas in Deir ez-Zor against the Syrian Army

Attacking Europe?

 * British Minister claims ISIS planning chemical attack in the UK - Al Masdar News, January 1, 2017
 * ''“The ambition of … Daesh (ISIS) is definitely mass-casualty attacks. They want to harm as many people as possible and terrorize as many people as possible,” Security Minister Ben Wallace emphasized in an interview published Sunday by the UK-based Sunday Times. “They have no moral objection to using chemical weapons against populations, and if they could, they would in this country. The casualty figures that could be involved would be everybody’s worst fear,” the minister noted. “We have certainly seen reports of them using it in Syria and Iraq [and] we have certainly seen aspirations for it in Europe.”