A man sits under a sign with flag belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) along a street in the city of Mosul June 12, 2014.
IN PHOTO: A man sits under a sign with flag belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) along a street in the city of Mosul June 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer REUTERS/Stringer

A former head of the chemical and biological weapons for NATO and the British army has warned that ISIS fighters returning to the UK could be planning attacks using chlorine gas. Retired Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, one of the world’s experts in chemical weapons, has expressed fears of an attack from ISIS supporters who have knowledge in creating chlorine gas-filled IEDs. He returned from a meeting with security forces in Baghdad last week and said an attack in the UK involving chlorine gas is “highly likely.”

The chemical warfare expert added that a gas attack could “happen on a train or tube or even at a big football match,” reports The Mirror. De Bretton-Gordon said acquiring ammunition and weapons is “difficult” in Britain but getting 90,000 tonnes of chlorine in the country would not be a problem since it can be done without a licence.

He imagined a scenario where the gas could be released. “In a confined space if you saw this yellow and green gas cloud and started smelling it the panic would create carnage,” he added.

The retired colonel’s warning came days after the world remembered the attack on the Tokyo subway 20 years ago. Terrorists had released a deadly gas in several tube lines of the Japanese capital. Previous reports said ISIS is believed to be stockpiling chemical weapons to be used against Iraqi troops fighting to drive the militants out of the country.

De Bretton-Gordon revealed hundreds of crude chlorine IED were being used against government forces in the battle for Tikrit. Iraqi security forces believe ISIS is preparing bombs to defend the militants’ stronghold in Mosul, the second biggest city in Iraq.

Meanwhile, officials said Iraqi forces have been forced to change their strategy as a small group of ISIS militants stood their ground in parts of Tikrit. Government troops will attempt to seal off the area rather than follow the original plan of storming it, reports the New York Times. Iraqi forces have been advancing closer to the foot of the Nineveh Province and closer to Mosul where the biggest battle is expected to happen against the militants.

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