US Mil: White Phosphorus used in Iraq

"The Pentagon has confirmed that US troops used white phosphorus during last year's offensive in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

"It was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants," spokesman Lt Col Barry Venable told the BBC - though not against civilians, he said.

The US earlier denied it had been used in Falluja at all.[...]

Col Venable said a statement by the US state department that white phosphorus had not been used was based on "poor information"

The BBC's defence correspondent Paul Wood says having to retract its denial has been a public relations disaster for the US military.[...]

When an Italian TV documentary revealing the use of white phosphorus in Iraq was broadcast on 8 November, it sparked fury among Italian anti-war protesters, who demonstrated outside the US embassy in Rome. " ^BBC

Iraq Falluja US Military Bush White Phosphorus WMD