Burning sulfur near Mosul sends hundreds to hospital, U.S. troops don masks

By Babak Dehghanpisheh QAYYARA, Iraq (Reuters) – Up to 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to fumes from a sulfur plant set ablaze during fighting with Islamic State in northern Iraq and U.S. officials say U.S. forces at a nearby airfield are wearing protective masks. A cloud of white smoke blanketed the area around the Mishraq sulfur plant, near Mosul, mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves. Local residents and the U.S. military said Islamic State militants deliberately set the sulfur plant ablaze as they strive to repel an offensive by Iraqi government forces to drive them from Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country.

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Burning sulfur near Mosul sends hundreds to hospital, U.S. troops don masks