Posted on 10/08/2006 4:40:30 PM PDT by ARealMothersSonForever
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqi policemen fell sick from poisoning Sunday at a base in southern Iraq after the evening meal breaking their daily Ramadan fast, and officials said they were investigating whether the poisoning was intentional.
An official with the Environment Ministry said 11 policemen had died. However, the governor of Wasit province where the poisoning took place denied any deaths, though he said some of the victims were in critical condition. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory reports.
Some of the policemen began bleeding from the ears and nose after the meal, said Jassim al-Atwan, an inspector for the Environment Ministry, who was serving as a liaison in the investigation between the Health Ministry and the base, located in the town of Numaniyah.
"Hundreds of soldiers were poisoned after taking food and water in the iftar," Wasit Gov. Hamad al-Latif told the Associated Press, referring to the meal that breaks the sunrise-to-sunset fast during the Islamic holy month. "Investigations are under way to determine the cause."
Samples of the food and water were being tested "to determine the substance in them" and will be sent to Baghdad for further tests, al-Latif said.
Sunni insurgents who have targeted police and military forces with bombings and shootings have not been known to use poisoning as a weapon. But the suddenness and severity of the sickness raised speculation that the incident could be a new attack. The division is mainly made up of Shiites.
Between 600-700 policemen were affected to varying degrees, and 11 who had the heaviest amount of the food had died, al-Atwan told The Associated Press.
Some of the soldiers collapsed as soon as they stood up from them meal, others fell "one after the other" as they headed out to the yard in the base to line up in formation, al-Atwan said.
Iraqi ambulances and helicopters sent by the U.S. military rushed the policemen to hospitals in Numaniyah and the nearby city of Kut.
The afflicted policemen belonged to the 4th Division of the National Police, nicknamed the "Karrar" Division, after a title of Imam Ali, the most revered Shiite saint.
The division normally operates around the town of Salman Pak on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad an area of intense Shiite-Sunni killings. The division was sent to the base in Numaniyah, 60 miles southeast of the capital, for further training.
Al-Latif said food and water at the base are provided by an Australian contractor working through Iraqi subcontractors. He did not identify the Australian firm.
More: Mycotoxins: Trichothecene mycotoxins are a family of poisonous compounds made from a mold that grows on wheat, millet and barley. Mycotoxins can be absorbed by the skin, inhaled or ingested. These toxins attack the cells of bone marrow, skin, and the G-I tract. They also block blood clotting. It takes only about 35 milligrams in aerosol form to kill an average man, but mycotoxins are considered only moderately lethal. Iraq provided no documentation on its work, so inspectors never determined how much may have been produced.
Sunrise and sunset are defined as when you can distinguish the difference between a black thread and a white one. Well before and well after what we regard as sunrise and sunset.
Especially nice when it's 118° in the shade, and there is no shade...
I see I arrived at this conclusion way too late!
Oh well, GMTA!
I'm going to guess Ricin.
AM -- would you consider adding to the title in paranthesis, or first post something like:
(symptoms consistent with mustard gas attack, post 163)?
As we were all trying to figure out how poison in food can cause such quick reaction and "bleeding from nose and mouth", 'michigander' found and posted in post 163 the info and source (Global Security):
excerpt:
"IRAQI MUSTARD GAS--IRAQI FORCES HAD AN
EXTREMELY POTENT GAS CALLED "KHARDAL" IN ARABIC. (FLDCMT--KHARDAL
TRANSLATES IN ENGLISH AS MUSTARD.) THE GAS WAS ORIGINALLY
MANUFACTURED IN THE SOVIET UNION BUT IS NOW MADE IN SAMARAH, IZ
//3412N04352E//. SYMPTOMS OF EXPOSURE INCLUDE BLEEDING FROM THE
EYES, EARS, AND NOSE TWO MINUTES AFTER EXPOSURE."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716003/posts?page=163#163
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After reading everything this is the only thing that makes sense: the poison wasn't in the food, the Iraqis were gassed at the end of their meal.
Is there any kind of poison or agent that would act this way? Wait almost 24 hours and then suddenly attack 600-700 people as soon as they eat? Or are there poisons/agents they could have been exposed to earlier in the day some other way, and eating triggered the reactions? (I feel like I am reading a Kyle Mills novel!)
TANKS,,At this point anything is possible,,,
A couple years ago, I had to rush my beagle to the Vet ER after she ate a small block of D-Con (rat poison). I pulled quite a bit of it out of her mouth/throat and the vet induced vomitting at the clinic. But even so, her blood clotting ability had been somewhataffected within the hour it took me to drive her in and get her looked at. She survived.
Anything that fast acting is extremely disturbing. It wasn't the typical rat poison you buy off the hardware store shelf!
"Blame the dems if you want. In this instance it is simply untrue."
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You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to call others "idiots" because they disagree with you.
In my opinion blaming democrats on US soil for these unfortunate deaths was idiotic.
Me too. :(
LOL!!
Wikipedia is really not the most authoritative source.
What michigander posted in post 163 was from intel sources, about a potent mustard gas in Iraq, that they got from the Soviets, and specifically said it caused bleeding from the mouth and ears within 2 minutes.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716003/posts?page=163#163
He also posted the source right at the top of his post, at Global Security, from DoD.
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