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Russian Foreign Ministry not suprised IS has chemical weapons

The ministry's spokeswoman notes Moscow has numerously warned about the issue

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Russia is not surprised that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has confirmed the possession of chemical weapons by the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) and their use in Syria and Iraq, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"This has not become a surprise for us that the IS possesses chemical weapons and is using them not only in Iraq but also in Syria," the spokeswoman said.

"The Russian side has numerously spoken and warned about this," she added.

"Now these facts have been confirmed in the relevant report," the spokeswoman said.

OPCW-UN report on chemical weapons in Syria

The United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have received data on over 100 possible chemical attacks in Syria since December 2015, according to a report of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism submitted to the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Specialists of the UN and the OPCW are investigating the cases of the use of chemical agents in Syria from December 2015 to August 2016.

According to the document, a copy of which was obtained by TASS, the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has data on 13 cases of the use of sarin, 12 attacks with the use of mustard gas (yperite), four cases of the use of VX nerve agent, 41 incidents when people were exposed to the impact of chlorine and 61 instances of the combat use of other chemical agents.

The report also claims that the data gathered by experts of the UN and the OPCW point to the possible complicity of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic and other players in these possible incidents.