Baghdad, Iraq – Insurgents exploded a truck carrying chlorine gas canisters Wednesday – the second such “dirty” chemical attack in two days.
The gas cloud in Baghdad suggests possible new and coordinated strategies by bombers trying to unleash toxic – and potentially deadly – materials.
A pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders was blown apart, killing at least five people and sending more than 55 to hospitals gasping for breath and rubbing stinging eyes, police said.
On Tuesday, a bomb planted on a chlorine tanker left more than 150 villagers stricken north of the capital. More than 60 were still under medical care on Wednesday. Chlorine causes respiratory trouble and skin irritation in low levels and possible death with heavy exposure.
Two Pentagon officials said the tactic has been used at least three times since Jan. 28, when a truck carrying explosives and a chlorine tank blew up in Anbar province. More than a dozen people were reported killed.
Some believe militants could be trying to maximize panic by adding chlorine or other noxious substances.
