Chemical security

Army brings back sniffer vehicles for chemical weapons threat

The spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons skills and theplundering of deadly stockpiles in countries such as Syria by Islamic State means the chances of British troops facing the threat on a future battlefield is growing, commanders believe.

Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil) has used mustard or chlorine gas against Kurdish fighters in recent weeks.

The Telegraph saw the vehicles of Falcon Sqn, The Royal Tank Regiment, in their final stages of preparation in the Jordanian desert before they are expected to go on full alert later this year.

The unit of air tight armoured vehicles costing around £1.5m each are designed to scout ahead of troops to find and identify potential chemical, biological or nuclear hazards on the battlefield.