IS militants use Permethrin to treat skin diseases in Tal Afar: Sources
The Islamic State tunnels in the mountains of Iraq.
Speaking to AlSumaria News on Wednesday, the sources said that the militant group adopted a new tactic using Permethrin in Tal Afar as per the leaders’ orders to treat skin diseases.
The orders came in the wake of skin diseases spread among the militants, especially scabies, the sources said, adding that the lack of exposure to sun as the members spend long time in tunnels and underground shelters following frequent air strikes against the group’s headquarters helped in the diseases spread.
However, the sources indicated lack of Permethrin, an insecticide used to kill lice, locusts, fleas and other insects, which urged the leaders to order exposure of clothes and fabrics to direct sunlight to limit the disease spread.
The militants are totally besieged in the town, which is expected to be invaded by security troops very soon.
On Tuesday, a Defense Ministry official was quoted saying that aerial bombardment of the town started to be followed by the ground attack, which was later denied by the Joint Operations Command, saying commands by the Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi were still awaited to declare the zero-hour of the battle.
In July, the group reportedly emptied its prisons in the town in the wake of unprecedented spread of diseases of scabies and pulmonary tuberculosis.
Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014.