Moscow, Sep 4 (IANS/EFE): The Islamic State jihadist group has acquired documents for the manufacture of chemical weapons and recruited specialists in this field for military purposes, Russia's ministry of foreign affairs has said.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told local media that there was data on IS access to technical-scientific documentation on manufacturing chemical weapons.

She said the jihadist group has taken control of several chemical plants, in addition to recruiting foreign experts to produce "combat toxic substances".

In her view, the access of non-state organisations to this chemical-military power, prohibited by international conventions, can be a destabilising factor for the entire Middle East.

She warned that this raises a very serious threat of the geographical spread of terrorist activities outside the borders of Syria and Iraq and, in the worst case, out of the Middle East.

The IS has been accused by Western countries of using chemical weapons, such as chlorine, against their enemies in Syrian territory.