According to a report by Iraqi officials on Friday, the Islamic State (ISIS) has been using chlorine gas as a chemical weapon during fighting with Iraq's Shiite militias and security forces.

Following an attack last month, 11 Iraqi police officers were vomiting and having a hard time trying to breath as they were quickly taken to a government hospital near Baghdad. The diagnosis has been confirmed as poisoning by chlorine gas.

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Similar incidents have been reported prior to the attack. However, the use of chlorine used in the attack near Baghdad last month is the first confirmed case of chemical weapon use by the Islamic State. An Iraqi Defense Ministry official confirmed the attack.

According to security officials, ISIS fighters stole chlorine from water purification sites in certain areas they've overrun. The Islamic State is expected to have numerous amounts of full chlorine shells ready to be used in other attacks.

Chlorine was first used as a chemical weapon during World War I. It can have devastating effects if inhaled. It may not be as effective as other chemical weapons, but can easily be mixed with other chemicals to make it even more dangerous.

"The use of any chemical weapon is an abhorrent act," Secretary of State John Kerry said. "It's against international law. And these recent allegations underscore the importance of the work that we are currently engaged in."

This is the first confirmed case of chemical weapons used by ISIS, but it's not the first time insurgents have used chlorine gas in Iraq. In 2007, suicide bombers drove chlorine tankers into three different Iraqi cities causing over 350 civilians and six U.S. soldiers to seek treatment. 

TagsIslamic State in Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, chemical weapons, chlorine gas, shiite militias, Secretary of State John Kerry, International Law