Syria: Mustard gas shell found in area of militant attack - Russian military

Experts from the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence unit of the Russian Armed Forces detected evidence of mustard gas inside an unexploded shell in Maarat Umm Hawsh, Aleppo Governorate, on Thursday. The shell was discovered in an area reportedly subjected to a chemical weapons attack by militants in September.
After donning protective gear the Russian troops dragged the shell into an open field where they proceeded to inspect it. A test of the substance inside the shell indicated the presence of a chemical warfare agent: mustard gas.
As a member of the Russian unit explained, "today we visited a house where a chemical bomb had exploded, and we removed unexploded ordnance from the ground, opened the weapon and extracted the substance. Express-analysis showed that this substance is mustard gas."
The representative explained that "chemical weapons were used against civilians" in the area in September, referring to the reported attack by militants in mid-September. Many of those injured in the attack sustained blisters, ulcers, and wounds that wouldn't heal, suggesting exposure to mustard gas.
Earlier, Russian experts inspected sites where attacks by militants had taken place in several districts of the Aleppo Governorate and found shells with traces of chlorine and white phosphorus.