Page 9 - ATODAY
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Thursday 10 March 2016
Iraqi officials: US captured top IS chemical arms engineer
QASSIM ZAHRA Military Industrialization Au- Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, center, arrives at a military a base outside Tikrit, 80 miles
SUSAN GEORGE thority where he special- north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. US special forces captured the head of the
Associated Press ized in chemical and bio- Islamic State group’s unit trying to develop chemical weapons in a raid last month in northern
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. spe- logical weapons. They said Iraq, Iraqi and US officials told The Associated Press.
cial forces captured the al-Afari, who is about 50
head of the Islamic State years old, heads the Islamic (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
group’s unit trying to de- State group’s recently es-
velop chemical weapons tablished branch for the re- pected chemical threat. Baghdad told the AP. on condition of anonymity
in a raid last month in north- search and development The U.S.-led coalition be- Airstrikes are targeting lab- because they were not au-
ern Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. of- of chemical weapons. gan targeting IS’ chemi- oratories and equipment, thorized to talk to the me-
ficials told The Associated He was captured in a raid cal weapons infrastructure and further special forces dia.
Press, the first known major near the northern Iraqi town with airstrikes and special raids targeting chemi- IS has been making a de-
success of Washington’s of Tal Afar, the officials said. operations raids over the cal weapons experts are termined effort to develop
more aggressive policy of They would not give further past two months, the Iraqi planned, the intelligence chemical weapons, Iraqi
pursuing IS militants on the details. In Washington, U.S. intelligence officials and a officials said. They and the and American officials
ground. officials confirmed al-Afari’s Western security official in Western official also spoke have said.
The Obama administration identity.
launched the new strategy The officials, who both have
in December, deploying a first-hand knowledge of
commando force to Iraq the individual and of the IS
that it said would be dedi- chemical program, spoke
cated to capturing and kill- on condition of anonymity
ing IS leaders in clandestine as they are not authorized
operations, as well as gen- to talk to the media. No
erating intelligence leading confirmation was available
to more raids. from U.S. officials.
U.S. officials said last week A U.S. official said Wednes-
that the expeditionary day that one or more fol-
team had captured an Is- low-up airstrikes were con-
lamic State leader but had ducted against suspected
refused to identify him, say- IS chemical facilities in
ing only that he had been northern Iraq in recent days.
held for two or three weeks The official, who spoke on
and was being questioned. condition of anonymity to
Two Iraqi intelligence of- discuss intelligence-related
ficials identified the man operations, was unfamiliar
as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, with details of the airstrikes
who worked for Saddam but indicated that they did
Hussein’s now-dissolved not fully eliminate IS’s sus-
Iran fires 2 missiles marked with ‘Israel must be wiped out’
JON GAMBRELL in recent days, aimed at “A nuclear-armed Iran is violate the accord. The likely would have covered
Associated Press demonstrating that Iran will an absolutely unaccept- landmark deal, which led some of the missile fired
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- push ahead with its bal- able threat to Israel, to to Iran dramatically scaling this week. To deal with the
ates (AP) — Iran test- listic program after scal- the region and the United back its nuclear program, restrictions in the nuclear
launched two ballistic mis- ing backing its nuclear States. And I want to reiter- does not include provisions agreement, the councill
siles Wednesday embla- program under the deal ate which I know people against missile launches. adopted a resolution last
zoned with the phrase “Is- reached last year with the still doubt here. If in fact Also, when the nuclear ac- July which among other
rael must be wiped out” in U.S. and other world pow- they break the deal, we will cord came into effect on measures “calls on” Iran
Hebrew, Iranian media re- ers. act,” he said. Jan. 16, the Security Coun- not to carry out such tests.
ported, in a show of power Israel, long an opponent of Biden’s comments came cil lifted most U.N. sanctions At the United Nations, there
by the Shiite nation as U.S. Iran, offered no comment after meeting Israeli Prime against Tehran including a is likely to be a debate
Vice President Joe Biden’s on the test, though Biden is- Minister Benjamin Netanya- ban it had imposed in 2010 about whether Iran is still re-
visited Jerusalem. sued a strong warning over hu, who strongly opposed on Iran testing missiles ca- quired to abide by the bal-
The new missile firings were any possible violation of the nuclear deal. pable of carrying nuclear listic missile test ban under
the latest in a series of tests the nuclear deal. The tests, however, don’t warheads — a ban that council resolutions.
