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UNITED NATIONS Iraqi U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said on Friday there was "no evidence" that Islamic State had used chemical weapons in Mosul, where the militants are fighting off an offensive by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces.

Alhakim said he spoke with officials in Baghdad at midday on Friday and "there was really no evidence that Daesh has used this chemical weapon." Daesh is another name for Islamic State.

The United Nations said last Saturday that 12 people, including women and children, had been treated for possible exposure to chemical weapons agents in Mosul since March 1.

The United Nations Security Council was briefed behind closed doors on the situation in Mosul on Friday by U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien and U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo.

British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, president of the council for March, said the 15-member body believed that Iraq's investigation into possible chemical weapons attacks was ongoing.

"We expressed concern over reports of possible use of chemical weapons by Daesh and we look forward to the results of Iraq's investigation into those allegations," Rycroft told reporters after the briefing.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler)

JERUSALEM U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House, in a first phone call between the two leaders since Trump took office.

ROTTERDAM/VIENNA Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will not be allowed to campaign for votes among expat Turks during a visit to Rotterdam on Saturday, the mayor of the Dutch port said, joining a growing list of European cities that have blocked such rallies.

UNITED NATIONS Iraq is assessing what help it might need to collect and preserve evidence of Islamic State crimes, but has not yet decided whether it needs United Nations assistance, the country's U.N. Ambassador, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, said on Friday.

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Iraq says 'no evidence' of chemical weapons attacks in Mosul - Reuters