FOB Warhorse in Diyala shelled with mortars, hit with chlorine car-bomb from 200 yards; At least 62 'sickened'

Above: A 'gospel choir' sings during Good Friday services at FOB Warhorse in April. Left: Col. David Sutherland (right), commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and Gen. Dave Petraeus, commander of Multi-National Forces, Iraq visit Forward Operating Base Warhorse on April 6. Chlorine gas reacts with water in moist tissue, such as the eyes and lungs, to create acid, which burns tissue. A few breaths containing chlorine at a thousand parts per million can be lethal.

BAGHDAD -- A car bomb exploded about 200 yards from the entrance of a U.S. military base northeast of Baghdad today, unleashing a cloud of chlorine that sickened at least 62 personnel but caused no injuries, the military said.

The use of chlorine canisters to turn an ordinary bomb into a chemical weapon has become a signature tactic of insurgents fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. But today's attack was believed to be the first time the tactic was used in Diyala province, north and east of the capital...

A thick smell of chorine hung over the U.S. base on the edge of the Diyala provincial capital, Baqubah, after today's attack. The soldiers affected sought treatment for dizziness and nausea, but none of the cases was believed to be life-threatening, said Maj. Raul Marquez, a military spokesman.

An hour earlier, nine mortar rounds were fired at the base, injuring two soldiers. One soldier was hit by shrapnel in the forehead while at a barbershop for a haircut before going on leave, the military said. Another suffered a gash to his hand.

Read the rest at the LA Times

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