ISIS Blasts 'Scorpion Bombs' At Civilian Areas In Iraq; Mosul Residents Living In Fear
ISIS has developed a new weapon in Iraq designed to strike fear among its victims. The militant group is launching bombs with live scorpions as the militants blast towns and villages.
According to a British military expert who has just returned from Iraq, ISIS has improvised a new weapon by putting live scorpions inside bomb canisters. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British army and NATO head of chemical and biological weapons revealed that ISIS has thought of a new way to spread terror. He described it as "madness" and said ISIS promotes the use of scorpion bombs to create panic.
De Bretton-Gordon explained that scorpions are "robust" as the creatures can survive the impact of a launch even from a couple of miles. When the canisters break, thousands of scorpions will "start crawling all around," the Mirror reported. Although not all scorpions are poisonous, the military expert said ISIS mainly wants to incite fear. The 2-ft scorpion bombs are not meant for mass casualties but are devised for maximum "psychological impact."
De Bretton-Gordon had returned from Baghdad last week where he took an advisory role to train Iraqi forces fighting ISIS militants. Senior officials in Iraq have reported that the scorpions were being used against civilian targets in the northern part of the country. Officials said the use of scorpions as weapons dates back to 198 AD when the creatures were stuffed into pots and thrown to enemies.
Meanwhile, ISIS militants in Mosul are preparing for an attack from the Iraqi government forces as they cut off telephone lines and imposed a ban on residents to leave the city. The Daily Telegraph was told that conditions in the city have deteriorated since ISIS is under constant pressure to fight back Iraqi ground troops.
A resident in Mosul revealed ISIS has imposed a rule that residents have to follow or else face punishment. The militants have warned residents to secure a guarantor if they wish to leave the city and come back after a few days. The Mosul resident, who asked not to be named, said people in the Iraqi city are trying to leave. Hospitals have shut down operations since there is no water or electricity.
U.S.-led coalition forces continue to launch airstrikes on ISIS targets as President Barack Obama has vowed that there will be "no safe haven" for ISIS. In a CNN report, Mr Obama spoke before military troops inside a New Jersey airplane hangar and reported that the U.S. was "hammering" ISIS by blasting supply chains and disrupting the terror group's chain of command.
