Iraqi forces fight to retake chemical attack town

Iraqi Shiite paramilitary forces have launched an operation to retake a town from which the Islamic State group launched a chemical weapons attack that killed three children, commanders say.

“The operation aims to liberate Bashir, after we succeeded several days ago in cutting off supplies to (IS) in the Bashir area,” says Abu Ridha al-Najjar, who is leading the operation.

Sheikh Maitham al-Zaidi, the commander of Furqat al-Abbas, one of the groups involved, also confirms that the operation has begun.

Najjar says that nine pro-government fighters were killed and 60 wounded in clashes with IS on Sunday.

The jihadist group fired rockets suspected of carrying a mustard agent last month from Bashir on Taza Khurmatu, another town in the northern province of Kirkuk.

The attack killed three children, wounded a large number of people and pushed thousands more to flee Taza out of fear that it would be repeated.

— AFP