The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has announced that 22 fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have sustained injuries due to a chemical attack by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Releasing a statement on Sunday, the TSK said: “Symptoms of exposure to chemical gas have been observed in the bodies of 22 opposition fighters as a result of rockets fired by DAESH [another acronym for ISIL] in the Haliliye area.” The TSK did not specify when the attack occurred.
The attack targeted Turkey-backed rebels who have been besieging the ISIL-controlled town of al-Bab for days. Al-Bab is a major target in the Euphrates Shield operation to push the ISIL militants away from the Syrian side of the Turkish border.
Media reports said Turkish AFAD emergency relief teams had conducted various tests on the affected rebels for traces of chemical materials at a hospital in Turkey’s border province of Kilis.