Truck bombers using chlorine kill 8 in Iraq
Source: Reuters
(Adds background) FALLUJA, Iraq, March 17 (Reuters) - Two suicide truck bombers driving tanks filled with chlorine killed at least eight people and 85 were made ill on Friday in the western Iraqi town of Falluja, hospital sources said on Saturday. The first attack was at the entrance of Amiriyat Falluja, a large housing complex south of Falluja, that killed six people including policemen and making 79 ill, including 27 children. The second bomber targeted a tribal leader opposed to al Qaeda nearby when he blew up his tanker outside the man's home, killing two people and making six ill because of exposure to the chemical. Militants have used chlorine as a weapon in the past. At least two bombings involving chlorine killed eight people in February. The U.S. military said they discovered an al Qaeda car bomb factory last month near Falluja that was constructing bombs with chlorine. The gas causes severe burns when breathed in and can even cause death. Chlorine gas was used as a weapon in World War One but its use in guerrilla attacks in Iraq has particular resonance for Iraqis. Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on Kurdish areas in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.
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