Medical authorities in al-Anbar province in Western Iraq report a sharp rise in the number of registered cases of cancer diagnosis as a result of the US military's use of banned munitions at the time of occupation. "The radiation of prohibited ammunition used during the US occupation of Iraq is the most important cause for the heightened number of cancer patients in al-Anbar province," an oncologist in the province was quoted as saying by the Arabic-language Afaq news channel on Wednesday.
He noted that people in al-Anbar are facing different problems risen from the Americans' use of banned weapons and munitions, and said that cancer is a disease whose treatment is much costly, while people in the province cannot afford it, and even the few that could bear the huge expenses are facing shortage of cancer drugs.
The US troops used white phosphorus in the offensive in the Iraqi city of Falluja in 2004, the US said.