Libyan militias are believed to have gained possession of chemical weapons – mainly mustard gas and nerve gas Sarin –in the central and southern provinces of Libya, according to Saudi-owned London Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

Libyan military sources told the newspaper that the militias were using the weapons against the Libyan army.

They expressed fear that these could now end up in the hands of Islamic State.

A video recording, obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat purportedly shows militants conducting chemical weapons tests in a mountainous area near the town of Mizda, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tripoli.

In the footage, a militant is shown firing a projectile, producing flames followed by a cloud of dense white smoke that covers a wide area.

“Before his death, Gaddafi left approximately one thousand cubic tons worth of material used for manufacturing chemical weapons and about 20,000 cubic tons of mustard gas,” the military source said.

The destruction of some of Libya’s chemical weapons arsenal began after the country joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2004. Due to the uprising against Gaddafi’s rule in 2011, the source maintained, only 60 percent of the chemical stockpiles have been destroyed.

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