Zayd al-Isa: Takfiri terrorists rely on chemical weapons

Press TV has conducted an interview with Zayd al-Isa, Middle East expert in London, about a recent statement by the German Defense Ministry that Daesh terrorists carried out a chemical weapons attack on Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.

Following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Daesh has been accused of using chemical weapons in the past as well. Are you at all surprised at these fresh revelations?

Isa: No. Definitely that is highly unsurprising. It is hugely expected, because those terrorist groups, not just ISIL, but also Jabhat al-Nusra have been increasingly reliant on those chemical weapons, chlorine weapons, and I do believe that the expertise and the know-how are the same expertise that the previous Iraqi elite forces or the Saddamists have used heavily against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The finances for the Saddamists to acquire those weapons came largely from Saudi Arabia but the technology and the know-how came from the West.

ISIL and also Jabhat al-Nusra are using them because they facilitate a quick victory and they do inflict damage and also huge psychological blow on the other party. So it is part and parcel of that highly terrorist approach in order to scare and basically throw fear in the hearts of their opponents. They have not yet been used in Iraq against, I do believe, civilians but it was used in Syria several times by ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra, particularly in 2013 in the Ghouta area, where it was part and parcel of a ploy by the terrorists, and, I do believe, encouraged and backed up by the Saudis in order to give the Americans the pretext to launch military airstrikes against the Syrian government, accusing it without having any basis, evidence, a shred of evidence, of actually launching that attack, when the finger of blame and evidence have pointed consistently to this crime being actually perpetrated deliberately by ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra in order to provide the justification.  

Press TV: In the speaking of that very attack we saw the West jump into action and put the blame on the Syrian government. Right now, there was also this UN Security Council resolution being discussed about forming a fact-finding commission to go and find out who was behind that attack in Syria. Do you think similar action could be taken in Iraq?

Isa: I do not believe they are really serious about it. They have not yet put their money where their mouth is. It has been consistent when push comes to shove. … it is in a way helpful to those Wahhabi Takfiri groups to actually utilize and exploit this weapon, particularly to use it to make headway on the ground when their forces are being obstructed and basically suffer huge casualties by the Syrian army and also by the Iraqi army. So we have not seen, although we basically have heard of many resolutions and the United Nations putting it as a priority, but as I said they have not actually put their money where their mouth is till now.

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