Taliban rejects US claim it used white phosphorous ammunition

The US military said on Monday that it had documented 44 incidents of Afghan insurgents using or possessing white phosphorous ammunition.

[efoods]Its claim followed allegations – which have been denied – that the US military itself may have used the munition in the incident in Farah province in which it was accused of causing civilians deaths during a battle with the Taliban.

US and Nato forces acknowledge they use the chemical – which erupts into flame on contact with the air – to create smokescreens, illuminate the battlefield or destroy empty buildings, but they deny knowingly using it on people.

Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the Islamist group did not use white phosphorous at all.

“We neither have nor use phosphorous. The Americans have used it in many operations and now want to attribute their tyranny to the Taliban,” he alleged in a telephone conversation with the Reuters news agency.

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