White phosphorus used in Iraq
November 16, 2005But Pentagon denies Italian TV claim that civilians died (ANSA) - Washington, November 16 - The Pentagon has admitted using white phosphorus in Iraq but denies claims made by an Italian documentary that the spontaneously flammable chemical was used against civilians .
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable said on Tuesday that white phosphorus was used as an incendiary weapon against insurgent strongholds during the US military’s siege of the Iraqi city of Falluja last year .
“It was not used against civilians,” he said .
Washington had earlier denied the use of white phosphorus at all in Falluja, a city just to the west of Baghdad which suffered widespread destruction during the November 2004 offensive .
White phosphorus is a lethal chemical which is capable of burning and melting human skin. The smoke it produces is capable of causing external and internal chemical burns
Israel used White Phosphorus - Lest we Forget
Related tags: Iraq, phosphorus
