BND foreign intelligence agency is quoted as saying it tested blood samples from Kurds who had been injured fighting the Islamic State group

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency BND has reportedly collected evidence of mustard gas use by the Islamic State group.

German daily Bild reported on Monday that BND intelligence agents collected blood samples from Kurds who were injured in clashes with Isis.

'My body was burning': survivors recall horror of Isis mustard gas attack Read more

It quoted the BND chief, Gerhard Schindler, as saying that the agency has “information that IS used mustard gas in northern Iraq”.

Schindler told the paper that the mustard gas either came from old Iraqi stockpiles produced under Saddam Hussein’s rule or was manufactured by Isis after it seized the University of Mosul.

A senior German intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed the comments attributed to Schindler. He declined to confirm that the BND collected blood samples or discuss the agency’s methods.

US defense department spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith said: “While we will not comment on intelligence or operational matters, let us be clear: any use by any party ... of a chemical as a weapon of any kind is an abhorrent act.

“Given the alleged behavior of Isil and other such groups in the region, any such flagrant disregard for international standards and norms is reprehensible.”

Activists said in August that Isis attacked the northern Syrian town of Marea with poisonous gas although it was not clear if chemical weapons were used.

Doctors Without Borders said four patients exhibiting symptoms of exposure to chemical agents were treated at a hospital run by international medical organisations in northern Syria on 21 August. It said the parents and their two daughters arrived at a hospital run by the group one hour after the attack suffering from respiratory difficulties, inflamed skin, red eyes, and conjunctivitis and their conditions worsened later.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Turkey-based activist Abu al-Hassan Marea said it was not independently confirmed if the attack was with chemical agents.