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Seven people are receiving treatment for exposure to chemical agents near the Iraqi city of Mosul, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says.
Five Iraqi children and two women presented at a hospital in Erbil, east of Mosul, suffering symptoms consistent with exposure to chemical weapons — blisters, redness in the eyes, irritation, vomiting, and coughing.
The Red Cross did not say which chemical agent was used or who may have launched it, but the Iraqi military suggested stocked piles of both mustard and chlorine gas were used.
"[The ICRC] condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons during fighting around the Iraqi city of Mosul," a statement read.
The incident is the first report of chemical weapons being used in the battle for Mosul, where the Islamic State group (IS) is fighting United States-backed Iraqi forces.
IS militants have long been suspected of making and using crude chemical weapons in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria.
The United Nations refugee agency said 4,000 people a day were fleeing the western half of Mosul as Iraqi troops advanced into the city.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, doctors-and-medical-professionals, health, terrorism, iraq
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