Iraqis think US army introduced a deadly spider in their country

Iraqi locals got furious after finding a news species of the deadly black widow spider in their homes which they think are pests originating in America.

This came to light after a video on sputniknews.com, posted by an Iraqi farmer appeared to show the war-torn country's new threat trapped in a jar, reported Mirror.

The man featured in this video, an Iraqi farmer named Abu Osman, says: "I confirm that this American Black Widow spider was found in Al Habbaniyah region. I demand that the local government get rid of these spiders that invade our homes in this region, and prevent them from spreading".

According to Mirror, many people who have viewed the clip are of the opinion that it was actually a Redback which is native to Australia. Redbacks, which are a species of the widow spider genus, are thought to be responsible for up to 10,000 bites on humans per year leading to localised pain as well as possible nausea, vomiting, abdominal or chest pain, agitation, headache, generalised sweating and hypertension.

According to Iraqi locals, the spiders have been spreading in the vicinity of the "Al Habbaniyah" US military base in western Iraq and residents of Anbar province, where a bloody conflict between government forces and Islamic State militants is currently being waged, reported Mirror.

An official representative of Iraq's Health Ministry told Mirror that so far no cases of people being bitten by this type of spider had been reported in Anbar province or in any other region of the country.

He also added that the rumours about the spiders are mostly being spread via social media.