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| Isis could develop chemical weapons, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop warns | Isis could develop chemical weapons, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop warns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Australian Foreign Minister has expressed her belief that Isis is capable of building chemical weapons, in a speech to an anti-chemical weapons group. | The Australian Foreign Minister has expressed her belief that Isis is capable of building chemical weapons, in a speech to an anti-chemical weapons group. |
| Julie Bishop, who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2013, made the comments while speaking to a meeting of the Australia Group, an informal international forum that focuses on stopping the export and development of chemical and biological weapons. | Julie Bishop, who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2013, made the comments while speaking to a meeting of the Australia Group, an informal international forum that focuses on stopping the export and development of chemical and biological weapons. |
| At Friday's meeting in Perth, Western Australia, she said: "Apart from some crude and small scale endeavours, the conventional wisdom has been that the terrorist intention to acquire and weaponise chemical agents has been largely aspirational." | At Friday's meeting in Perth, Western Australia, she said: "Apart from some crude and small scale endeavours, the conventional wisdom has been that the terrorist intention to acquire and weaponise chemical agents has been largely aspirational." |
| She continued: "The use of chlorine by Daesh [the Arabic term for Isis], and its recruitment of highly technically trained professionals, including from the west, have revealed far more serious efforts in chemical weapons development." | She continued: "The use of chlorine by Daesh [the Arabic term for Isis], and its recruitment of highly technically trained professionals, including from the west, have revealed far more serious efforts in chemical weapons development." |
| 30th Australia Group meeting in Perth - my speech on nonproliferation of WMD: http://t.co/plV7Sa9rDm | 30th Australia Group meeting in Perth - my speech on nonproliferation of WMD: http://t.co/plV7Sa9rDm |
| "Daesh is likely to have amongst its tens of thousands of recruits the technical expertise necessary to further refine precursor materials and build chemical weapons." | "Daesh is likely to have amongst its tens of thousands of recruits the technical expertise necessary to further refine precursor materials and build chemical weapons." |
| Multiple reports from the area where the battle with Isis is currently raging have suggested that the group has already used chemical weapons, although in a more limited way than the scenario that Julie Bishop described. | Multiple reports from the area where the battle with Isis is currently raging have suggested that the group has already used chemical weapons, although in a more limited way than the scenario that Julie Bishop described. |
| Kurdish authorities said in March that Isis had used chlorine gas against Peshmerga fighters. A Kurdish official told the Associated Press that dozens of fighters had experienced "dizziness, nausea, vomiting and general weakness" after being exposed to gas. | Kurdish authorities said in March that Isis had used chlorine gas against Peshmerga fighters. A Kurdish official told the Associated Press that dozens of fighters had experienced "dizziness, nausea, vomiting and general weakness" after being exposed to gas. |
| They said that chemical analysis of clothing and soil near the area where a truck apparently laden with gas canisters was destroyed showed that chlorine gas was present. | |
| The majority of nations are signatories to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which outlaws the use, development and stockpiling of chemical weapons. | The majority of nations are signatories to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which outlaws the use, development and stockpiling of chemical weapons. |
| The UK ended its chemical weapons programme in the 1950s. The USA still has some chemical weapons, but is a signatory to the CWC, and is underway with the long process of destroying its once-extensive stockpiles. | The UK ended its chemical weapons programme in the 1950s. The USA still has some chemical weapons, but is a signatory to the CWC, and is underway with the long process of destroying its once-extensive stockpiles. |