Chemical Weapons: Used Rarely — But With Deadly Effect
The use of chemicals weapons last week in Syria, if proven, would put the conflict there on a short list of occasions in which the deadly weapons have been used.
Here is a look at the previous times chemical weapons were deployed in modern times:
Tokyo Subway Attack, March 1995
Thirteen people were killed and 6,000 injured when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult attacked Tokyo's subway system with sarin gas.
The New York Times reported at the time: "Subway entrances soon looked like battlefields, as injured commuters lay gasping on the ground, some of them with blood gushing from the nose or mouth. Army troops from a chemical warfare unit rushed to the scene with special vehicles to clear the air, and men in gas masks and clothes resembling space suits probed for clues."
Nearly 200 Aum Shinrikyo members have been convicted in connection with the attacks, and its leader, Shoko Asahara, is on death row. As Mark reported over at the Two-Way, the last suspect in the case was arrested last year after 17 years on the run.
Iran-Iraq War
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