CANBERRA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- No Australian soldiers were hurt when Islamic State (IS) forces used mustard gas to carry out a "rudimentary" and "low grade" chemical weapons attack against Iraqi forces in Mosul, Australia's prime minister said on Wednesday.
It has been reported that up to 25 Iraqi soldiers required treatment as a result of the attacks, but no Australian troops - who were assisting the Iraqis at the time of the attack - were injured.
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday, Malcolm Turnbull said while Australian troops were acting as advisers to the Iraqi forces at the time of the attack, no Australians were affected.
"My advice right at the moment is no Australian troops were affected but Australian forces did provide assistance following the attack. That's my current advice received," Turnbull said.
According to the U.S. Pentagon, the attack was largely deemed to be ineffective. In a statement, it said the attack "further displays the desperation of IS as they seek to hold an untenable position in Mosul."
The attack comes just over a year after Defence Chief Air Marshal Mark Binskin confirmed the Australian armed forces would be better equipped to deal with the threat of chemical weapons in the Middle East.
"The one area that we have increased our force protection, and it's been an emerging threat that's been reported, is the use of some limited chemical weapons by the (IS) - chlorine weapons, and sulphur mustard," Binskin said at the time.
"We haven't seen a lot of that around the battlefield, but we're always wary of those sorts of threats, and so we've adjusted our force posture to be able to adapt to that sort of threat as well."
Mustard gas was widely used throughout World War I, and caused many casualties. Chemical weapons, including mustard, were banned from use in 1925 under the Geneva Protocol.
