ISIL Laptop Shows Plans for Biological Attacks in Syria

A source in an armed group in Syria say a laptop seized from ISIL Takfiri terrorists contains a series of secret plans including hints at biological attacks.

According to Press TV the laptop was recovered during a raid on an ISIL hideout in Idlib Province close to Turkey’s border.

A commander in a rival anti-government group in Syria has told American magazine, Foreign Policy, that the computer belonging to a Tunisian gunman, who studied chemistry and physics at two universities in Tunisia’s northeast, contained thousands of secret files in French, English, and Arabic.

It also contained lessons on disguise, bomb-making, stealing cars as well as ideological justifications for militancy, the commander added.

Western media reports say one of the documents included instructions on how to develop biological weapons and how to weaponize the bubonic plague from infected animals.

   “The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge,” the 19-page document in Arabic stated.

The laptop also includes a 26-page fatwa (decree) by ISIL terrorist leaders on the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Foreign-sponsored terrorists have used chemical weapons three times — once near Aleppo, a second time near Damascus, and another time in Homs in recent years.

UN investigators said in May 2013 that they had found testimonies from victims and medical staff showing armed groups had used the nerve agent sarin in Syria.

 The Syrian government says Damascus is “genuinely worried” that Syria’s enemies could provide chemical weapons to armed groups “and then claim they had been used by the Syrian government.”

ISIL terrorists have been behind many of the deadly bomb attacks targeting both civilians and government institutions across Syria over the past three years.

An article by “Foreign Policy” Magazine reporter Shane Harris clarifies that Weapons of mass destruction are the “holy grail” for terrorist groups, and over the years a number of organizations have announced their intentions to acquire chemical, biological, and radiological weapons. But the discovery of a laptop belonging to a member of the “Islamic State” is raising new questions about whether the terrorist group, which U.S. officials say is more dangerous than al Qaeda, is poised to launch a WMD attack.

U.S. officials and terrorism experts said that the discovery of the laptop raises troubling questions about the ISIL’s intentions and its ability to conduct a WMD strike.

“I wouldn’t dismiss the idea of a WMD attack by terrorists,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It’s something we should guard against”.

One U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss developing intelligence, said the files on the laptop offer some of the most precise information to date on the ISIL’s WMD aspirations. The information indicates that the ISIL likely now has the ability to build at least some form of biological or chemical weapon, the official said.

Source: Press TV-FP Magazine

H. Mustafa