Members of the Iraqi forces take up positions during clashes with Sunni insurgents in Ramadi on Friday. REUTERS

Baghdad/Washington, June 20
Sunni radicals in Iraq, who have overrun a swathe of territory north of Baghdad in a lightning offensive, have taken control of one of Saddam Hussein's former chemical weapons factories, a US official has said.

"We are aware that the ISIL has occupied the Al Muthanna complex," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

But she said she didn't think the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants would be able to produce usable chemical weapons there, because any materials remaining are old and unwieldy. The complex, located just 72 km northwest of Baghdad, began producing mustard gas and other nerve agents, including Sarin, in the early 1980s soon after Hussein took power. — Agencies