The Defense Department has reversed its previous statement that ISIS used chemical weapons against US troops during an encounter on Sept. 20. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday that a “series of follow-on tests” concluded “it was not sulfur mustard.” No US troops were injured in the attack, which Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford had previously characterized as deploying “a blistering mustard agent,” and Davis said the Defense Department was unaware of ISIS making any use of chemicals weapons since then. “That said, we recognize that ISIL has used them on multiple occasions on both sides of the border and we should expect it’s a very real threat we will face as we continue to progress,” he said.
The Air Force has dispatched an element of its Natural Disaster Recovery Team to Guam in the wake of Super Typhoon Mawar, which has caused widespread damage on the island and at Andersen Air Force Base. The team will assess the damage and put together a recovery cost estimate for…