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The top U.S. military officer confirmed Thursday that Islamic State militants targeted a military base in Iraq where U.S. troops were stationed with a potentially deadly chemical weapon this week.

“We assess it to be a sulfur-mustard blister agent,” Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Dunford did not elaborate, but the shell landed at a military base in northern Iraq where U.S. military advisers are helping Iraqi forces prepare for an upcoming offensive, according to an earlier account from two defense officials. They asked not to be named because they were not authorize to discuss the issue publicly. The defense officials suspected the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, of launching the attack.

via www.usatoday.com

Sulfur mustard agent is rather nasty. It's rarely fatal, but leaves terrible chemical burns on the victims.

And one of the more pernicious facts is, it isn't immediately incapacitating. It takes hours, as much as two days, before the effects manifest themselves. That means exposed troops who might have decontaminated themselves earlier instead suffer the full effects of the agent.

Sulfur mustard also is what is known as a persistent agent. That is, an area contaminated with mustard gas stays contaminated for days, weeks, and even months. Some places that receive little or no sunlight can remain contaminated for years.

Droplets or fumes of mustard are readily inhaled, and damage the esophagus and lungs. Very minor amounts might seemingly be treated and yet still inflict long term damage to the respiratory system.

The current US MOPP suits and protective masks provide robust defense against the immediate effects of mustard, but simply wearing them reduces a soldier's effectiveness even in the most benign of environments to a drastic degree.