The Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) used rudimentary chemical weapons and encouraged sympathizers to use whatever other weapon at their disposal to carry out terrorist attacks, the US Department of State said in a report on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th September, 2018) The Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) used rudimentary chemical weapons and encouraged sympathizers to use whatever other weapon at their disposal to carry out terrorist attacks, the US Department of State said in a report on Wednesday.
"[The Islamic State] has experimented with and employed small unmanned aerial systems and has used rudimentary chemical weapons," the State Department said in its Country Reports on Terrorism 2017. "The group encouraged sympathizers to use whatever weapons were at hand - such as large vehicles - against soft targets and public spaces."
The report noted that the Islamic State lost territory and continued shifting away from a centralized command-and-control structure toward a more diffuse one. Such approach to operations included handing down the responsibility of deciding where, when and how to attack to homegrown terrorists inspired or enabled by the terror group.
In addition, the report said that the harm caused by the Islamic State's repeated use of sulfur mustard in Iraq and Syria over the past three years vividly exemplifies the continued terrorist threat posed by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials and expertise.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda that he will make a decision fairly quickly on bringing US troops home from Syria as soon as the Islamic State is eradicated, a process that is nearing completion.
