A laptop
retrieved from an ISIS hideout which contained shocking plans to develop
weaponised bubonic plague that could inflict 'huge casualties' has been
pictured for the first time.
The computer was recovered from an Isis hideout in Syria by a moderate rebel commander called Abu Ali.
He
said that Isis fled from the building before his men stormed it. A
dusty laptop was found inside, which was then handed over to a pair of
investigative journalists.
They trawled
through the computer's files and discovered a disturbing 19-page
document containing instructions for making weaponised bubonic plague
(biological name Yersinias pestis), including the steps needed for
testing it.
'The
advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of
money, while the human casualties can be huge,' the document states,
according to Foreignpolicy.com.
It stated that testing should be done on small mice first.
It added: 'When the microbe is injected in small mice, the symptoms of the disease should start to appear within 24 hours.'
The
laptop belonged to a Tunisian chemistry and physics student called
Muhammed S, who it's thought joined the terrorist group in Syria.
However,
Jennifer Cole, Senior Research Fellow, Resilience & Emergency
Management, at the Royal United Services Institute, downplayed the
danger the find signified.
'Plus,
biological weapons are extremely unpredictable and their spread cannot
be predicted or controlled. This is why regimes and terrorist groups
have been so reluctant to use them.
'They
are slow acting, can't be geographically contained and are as likely to
hurt you as the enemy. That's why, while lots of groups look into them,
none ever use them.'
She
added that bubonic plague 'can be treated with simple antibiotics these
days, so no threat anyway' and that polio in Syria is a far bigger
worry than biological weapons.
No comments:
Post a Comment