The Islamic State was able to recruit a corps of scientists interacting in person and online to support the creation of biological and chemical weapons, as corroborated by the statements of a 36-year-old man who holds a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry and drug design and who was part of the group. The man’s retelling of his experiences while working for the Islamic State reveal the group was much more methodical than its predecessor and competitor terror groups when it came to developing these weapons. Given the focus and resources the Islamic State dedicated to this task, the man and his colleague scientists were able to synthesize biological and chemical weapons using information they gathered online and well-equipped labs provided them by their overseers. As a result, the Islamic State was able to develop and deploy these weapons against their adversaries, including mustard and chlorine gas used on Kurdish forces. With the collapse of the physical caliphate, the Islamic State’s chemical and biological weapons production facilities are likely all closed, if not destroyed. But as part of their work the scientists involved in the program uploaded their research online, meaning it could be accessed by other terrorists and used for attacks elsewhere around the world. Read the article at the Daily Beast.