U.S. denies using chemical in west Afghan battle

By Peter Graff

KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military denied on Sunday it had used the incendiary chemical white phosphorus in a battle that killed civilians in west Afghanistan last week, after a rights group said it was investigating suspicious burns.

The incident in western Farah province has sparked an outcry over civilian casualties. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said U.S. strikes killed more than 100 and possibly as many as 130 civilians, and has called for a halt to all U.S. air strikes.

The U.S. military has acknowledged some civilians died, but says the number is smaller and blames Taliban militants for deliberately putting them in harm's way.

Nader Nadery, a member of Afghanistan's independent human rights commission, said doctors who had treated victims from the incident had reported strange burns they believed may have been caused by a chemical like white phosphorus.

White phosphorus, which erupts in flame on contact with air and can stick to flesh causing severe burns, is legal on the battlefield to create light or smoke and is not banned by treaties that forbid using chemicals as weapons.

But its use in populated areas to "smoke out" enemy fighters has been a persistent source of controversy.

U.S. military spokesman Colonel Greg Julian said U.S. forces used no white phosphorus in last week's incident.

"There was no smoke or illum (illumination) used in Farah," he said. "I can't say whether the insurgents used it, but we certainly didn't."