Written question asked by Emily Thornberry (Labour) on Friday, 21 April 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 April 2017. It was answered by Boris Johnson (Conservative) on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Chemical Weapons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of attacks using chemical weapons in Iraq; what estimate he has made of the number of such attacks during (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016 and (d) 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: There have been a number of credible reports of use of chemical weapons in Iraq since 2014, becoming more frequent over time. We welcome the Government of Iraq's decision to invite the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to support its investigations into chemical weapons use in Iraq. The Government of Iraq's findings confirmed the use of sulphur mustard in northern Iraq by a non-State actor in 2015 and 2016 and investigations continue into other allegations of use.

Secondary information