Did anyone see this?
From US CENTCOM:
In response to claims that insurgents in Afghanistan are not using, nor have access to, white phosphorus (WP) munitions, ISAF RC-East conducted a summary database query, by which a total of 44 instances of reported enemy WP incidents were uncovered and declassified on 11 MAY 09. Thirty-eight of those occurred in RC-East and are released in this document. Our research also revealed six WP events that occurred in other ISAF regions; this list is available upon request from ISAF PAO press office at pressoffice@hq.isaf.nato.int.
Discussion: Three means of white phosphorus use and access by insurgents can be identified: 1) improvised explosive devices, 2) indirect fire attacks, and 3) ordnance caches or UXO. It is notable that the enemy has stockpiled and used white phosphorus in attacks since 2003 and as recently as the week prior to this release. It should also be noted that these instances have occurred in nearly every province in RC-East, which demonstrates the wide availability of white phosphorus to insurgents. Finally, it is important to note that insurgent stockpiles do not necessarily derive from old Soviet-era left-behind stocks; the white phosphorus munitions found in these 38 events have their origins in a wide range of countries. Also, the vast majority of white phosphorus rounds found in listed caches were determined to be in serviceable condition.
That’s weird, don’t you think? Why would insurgents use WP rounds? Aren’t they for very specific anti-personnel uses? You’d think the bad guys would use the highest explosive power for IEDs, particularly, rather than a quasi-chemical round like this. Or maybe it is a sort of “poor man’s” chemical weapon insofaras the effects. Not sure, any ideas?
Here’s more below the break:
1. Improvised Explosive Devices using White Phosphorus:
(U) 1.1 On 5 FEB 2009, an ISAF unit observed a white phosphorus detonation, determined to be a 107mm WP rocket IED, near a civilian district center in Sabari District, Khost province.
(U) 1.2 On 15 SEP 2008, an ISAF patrol conducting road clearance discovered an IED rigged with one 120mm white phosphorus round, in the Sabari District of Khost province.
(U) 1.3 In MAR 2008, an ISAF convoy in Mandozai District, Khost province, was struck by a vehicular suicide IED, wounding one service member and one local national. Investigators later determined that the IED charge contained both white phosphorus and high explosives.
(U) 1.4 On 9 FEB 2008, a white phosphorus round exploded in the vicinity of an ISAF forward operating base, in Behsood District, Nangarhar province.
(U) 1.5 On 10 JAN 2008, an ISAF EOD team destroyed a Russian 122mm white phosphorus round placed in the vicinity of an ISAF forward operating base in Nader Shah Kwot District, Khost province.
(U) 1.6 On 1 DEC 2007, Coalition forces on patrol discovered an 81mm white phosphorus mortar round set in the vicinity of a convoy in Waza Khwa District, Paktika province.
(U) 1.7 On 23 MAR 07, an ISAF EOD team discovered and defused a 122mm white phosphorus mortar round emplaced on the side of a road in Gardez District, Paktya province.
2. Indirect Fire Attacks using White Phosphorus:
(U) 2.1 On 7 MAY 2009, an ISAF outpost reported receiving two rounds of indirect white phosphorus fire, in Charkh District, Logar province.
(U) 2.2 On 11 AUG 2008, ISAF forces on patrol located a 107mm white phosphorus rocket tube that insurgents had prepositioned to fire in the direction of a nearby ISAF forward operating base in Goshta District, Nangarhar province.
(U) 2.3 On 28 JUN 2008, insurgents fired a white phosphorus rocket at an ISAF outpost in Bermel District, Paktika province.
(U) 2.4 On 4 JAN 2008, insurgents fired nine white phosphorus rounds at an ISAF forward operating base in Darreh-ye Pich District, Kunar province.
(U) 2.5 On 21 NOV 2007, insurgents fired at least one white phosphorus rocket at an ISAF forward operating base in Zadran District, Paktya province.
(U) 2.6 On 2 OCT 2007, insurgents fired two 107mm white phosphorus rockets at an ISAF forward operating base in Gelan District, Ghazni province.
(U) 2.7 On 4 AUG 2007, insurgents launched an indirect fire attack on an ISAF outpost, using HE and white phosphorus rounds in Dara Pech District, Kunar province.
(U) 2.8 On 25 MAY 2007, an insurgent mortar team fired two white phosphorus rounds at an ISAF bridge construction site in the Darreh-ye Pich District, Konar province.
(U) 2.9 On 25 MAY 2007, insurgents bombarded an ISAF outpost with 10 rounds of white phosphorus, in Darreh-ye Pich District, Kunar province.
(U) 2.10 On 13 MAY 2007, insurgents fired five white phosphorus mortar rounds at an ISAF outpost in Chawki District, Kunar province.
(U) 2.11 On 11 APR 2007, insurgents fired five white phosphorus mortar rounds at an Afghan National Army compound in Watah Pur District, Konar province.
(U) 2.12 On 26 MAR 2004, Afghan locals intercepted and drove off an insurgent mortar team setting up a group of rockets in the vicinity of an ISAF forward operating base. Coalition responders later destroyed the rockets, including one white phosphorus round, in Khost District of Khost province.
3. Insurgent Caches and UXO Finds of White Phosphorus:
(U) 3.1 On 20 JAN 2009, ISAF troops discovered a diverse weapons and ammunition cache that included three 82mm white phosphorus mortar rounds, in Chowreh District, Oruzgan province.
(U) 3.2 On 24 NOV 2008, an ISAF EOD team located and collected a weapons cache including two 107mm white phosphorus rockets, in Pol-e alam District, Logar province.
(U) 3.3 On 06 JAN 07, an ISAF patrol detected and destroyed an unexploded ordnance find that included one 122mm white phosphorus round in Terezai District, Khost province.
(U) 3.4 On 27 OCT 2006, an ISAF EOD team found a major ordnance cache that included six 122mm white phosphorus rounds in Bagram District, Parwan province.
(U) 3.5 On 23 DEC 2005, a Coalition unit discovered a sizable cache of ammunition and ordnance, including six 82mm white phosphorus mortar rounds, in Kohe Safi District, Parwan province.
(U) 3.6 On 12 DEC 2005, Afghan National Police found a cached mortar assembly, including one white phosphorus round, in Jaguri District, Ghazni province.
(U) 3.7 On 9 JUL 2005, an ISAF unit discovered hundreds of rounds of cached ordnance, including 27 rounds of 82mm white phosphorus mortar ammunition, in Qalandar District, Khost province.
(U) 3.8 On 26 MAR 2005, an Afghan National Police patrol reported a cache of various munitions, which ISAF responders identified and removed, including one 82mm white phosphorus mortar round, in Jalrez District, Wardak province.
(U) 3.9 On 19 MAR 2005, an ISAF unit found a cache of ordnance and IED-making materials including five 82mm white phosphorus mortar rounds, in Sharana District, Paktika province.
(U) 3.10 On 13 MAR 2005, Coalition troops discovered a cache of various ordnance including one 82mm white phosphorus round in Shahid E-Hassas District, Oruzgan province.
(U) 3.11 On 12 MAR 2005, local nationals led an ISAF unit to a cache of ordnance, including eight 107mm white phosphorus rockets, in Mosa Khail District, Khost province.
(U) 3.12 On 19 FEB 2005, an ISAF unit received a tip of a weapons cache in Khogyani District, Nangarhar province. The search revealed IED-making materials as well as two 82mm white phosphorus rounds.
(U) 3.13 On 1 OCT 2004, an ISAF unit discovered an ordnance cache containing an 82mm white phosphorus mortar round and other munitions of Chinese, Russian, Iranian, British origin, in Waza Khwa District, Paktika province.
(U) 3.14 On 13 SEP 2004, an ISAF unit located a cache of ordnance and weapons of various origin, including one round of Russian white phosphorus mortar ammunition, in Orgun District, Paktika province.
(U) 3.15 On 24 MAY 2004, an ISAF unit discovered an ordnance cache that included one 81mm and two 122mm white phosphorus rounds, in Zarghunshahr District, Paktika province.
(U) 3.16 On 5 APR 2004, an ISAF EOD team destroyed multiple weapons caches that included four white phosphorus rounds of various national origin, in Sarowbi District, Kabul province.
(U) 3.17 On 15 MAR 2004, Afghan security forces led ISAF troops to a large cache containing several hundred rounds of ordnance, including six 107mm white phosphorus rounds, in Qareh Bagh District, Ghazni province.
(U) 3.18 On 22 APR 2003, Coalition personnel located an ordnance cache that included four 82mm white phosphorus mortar rounds in Khar Konar District, Konar province.
(U) 3.19 On 6 FEB 2003, ISAF units, following a local tip, destroyed a 107mm white phosphorus rocket found in Bermel District, Paktika province.
– Christian
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
WP may have been in the inventory of what they captured from the Russians. Also, it might have been whatever was in inventory at the weapons bazaars in Pakistan or where-ever.
Also more insidious possibility is deliberate use to pin on America later (‘false flag’?)
I mean, WP isn’t much bang, but against exposed targets it isn’t much fun. During a firefight, shell a village, then blame America. Easy as pie.
“That’s weird, don’t you think? Why would insurgents use WP rounds? Aren’t they for very specific anti-personnel uses? You’d think the bad guys would use the highest explosive power for IEDs, particularly, rather than a quasi-chemical round like this. Or maybe it is a sort of “poor man’s” chemical weapon insofaras the effects. Not sure, any ideas?”
Do you have ANY idea what WP is, what it’s being used for?
Irregulars certainly have good use for a munition that has smoke, incendiary and anti-personnel effects at once.
Smoke is extremely useful.
I forgot to mention the effect of burning WP on night vision goggles and even thermal sensors.
In my experience in Iraq (finding IED’s made of nothing but ineffective smoke rounds), the insurgents will use whatever they have on hand, and many times they are ignorant to the fact that the shell they have is a smoke round or WP round instead of a high explosive. This could be due to illiteracy or not being able to identify markings on a given projectile. I would imagine in the case of WP indirect attacks that it was used intentionally however.
Seems like a smart insurgent attack to me deliberatly make and blame on US. OlFlll is right thought they prolly don’t know what there using.
Although WP is used in the West for marking, WP also causes severe burns which cannot be fought with water. A WP warhead is a real, nasty weapon, do not underestimate it. They can also start mean fires in urban areas.
In all honesty it doesn’t surprise me that they would use it. WP rounds suck, they’re like a mix of ancient Greek fire mixed with the acid blood from the Alien movies. They can’t be put out and they burn through clothing and skin until all the phosphorus burns out. I remember reading about their use in WWII and German soldiers had to dig out burning phosphorus from under their skin using trench knives.
Casualty generator. Hi explosives mostly kill, especially in areas where there isn’t much in the way of medical treatment. You get a fistful of dead bodies, a couple amputees, some bad cuts and and bruises, and everyone else walks away with headaches and bad hearing.
WP permanently injures and disfigures alot of people. Those people need medical evac and treatment. There is also the fact that permanently scarred and burned people send a message to the rest of your target audience.
Broken bones and cuts from blasts heal, those bad burns can last forever.
Only one reason to use it inadvertantly or otherwise; its the best choice immediately accessible. The only way to acquire it is by exchange through the lost and found friend.
Wasn’t sure if all the hullabaloo on WP was true, since the media can inflate things, and I have no military background to observe such things firsthand.
Now that I’ve looked it up, I am intrigued. IIRC there’s a scene in We Were Soldiers where WP is removed from someone’s arm with a knife?
How quickly does WP burn through, say, a soldier’s clothing, or a bulletproof vest? Considering that much of a soldier’s body is at least covered with clothing, I wonder if it helps against WP.
WP fire can be temporarily extinguished by water.
That’s the time to remove it from whatever it sticks to.
It will begin to burn again once dry and in contact with the air’s oxygen.
Advices like “don’t try to extinguish phosphor fires with water” have a different background. The water spills small phosphor pieces to new places and WP will begin to burn anew once dried.
The normal method to store WP in labs is to keep it under water.
Burned wounds need different bandages than cuts, but soldiers usually have both kinds of bandages.
The old treatment for WP was to use bandages containing copper sulphate. That would put out the fire and allow for the removal of chunks of phosphorus.
From wiki:
Upon exposure to elemental phosphorus, in the past it was suggested to wash the affected area with 2% copper sulfate solution to form harmless compounds that can be washed away. According to the recent US Navy’s Treatment of Chemical Agent Casualties and Conventional Military Chemical Injuries: FM8-285: Part 2 Conventional Military Chemical Injuries, “Cupric (copper(II)) sulfate has been used by U.S. personnel in the past and is still being used by some nations. However, copper sulfate is toxic and its use will be discontinued. Copper sulfate may produce kidney and cerebral toxicity as well as intravascular hemolysis.”[24]
Phosphorus explosion
The manual suggests instead “a bicarbonate solution to neutralize phosphoric acid, which will then allow removal of visible WP. Particles often can be located by their emission of smoke when air strikes them, or by their phosphorescence in the dark. In dark surroundings, fragments are seen as luminescent spots.” Then, “Promptly debride the burn if the patient’s condition will permit removal of bits of WP which might be absorbed later and possibly produce systemic poisoning. DO NOT apply oily-based ointments until it is certain that all WP has been removed. Following complete removal of the particles, treat the lesions as thermal burns.” As white phosphorus readily mixes with oils, any oily substances or ointments are not recommended until the area is thoroughly cleaned and all white phosphorus removed.
Further warnings of toxic effects and recommendations for treatment can be found in the Emergency War Surgery NATO Handbook: Part I: Types of Wounds and Injuries: Chapter III: Burn Injury: Chemical Burns And White Phosphorus injury.
Ask Black Water is where I would start.
uhmmmm… i know i’m going to sound like some kind of anti-american peacenick ;) but, really, i’m not.
yet there’s one thing i have to point out in the article: why when used by US forces WP weapons are considered legit while when used by insurgent forces they become “a quasi-chemical round” and “poor man’s chemical weapon”?
“That’s weird, don’t you think? Why would insurgents use WP rounds? Aren’t they for very specific anti-personnel uses?”
funny, funny. The whole ‘civilised’ world blames the USA for using incendiary, inhumanly hazardous WP rounds, whilest the USA ist said to follow the line of ‘only used WP because of its smoke n light effects’.
so in some way you counter the public nonsense your public relations department spills out ;)
but i myself go with the men saying that the Afghans are using whatever at hand, but maybe also being unable to correctly identify the stuff.
(maybe they also know [like you should] that flames/ heat damage ist always a strategically used psycho game)
insurgents often times have no idea what they are using. sometimes a VBIED will have random WP munitions thrown in. Or one of the rockets screaming in will have a WP warhead. They don’t know the difference. they are untrained and illiterate. hell i’d much rather have WP land near me than an explosive warhead. Especially if its an IED agains my armored vehicle. Wouldn’t even slow us down.
Well, usually, when the US uses WP rounds, the effected area is due to recieve much more effective ordinance shortly…at least that was my impression. On the other hand, when the hadjis use it, they probably want to cause as much terror, injury and death as they can, with whatever they have.
WP was originally developed as a white smoke generator to mark targets for artillery or air attack. The incendiary/anti personnel effect was found during World War II, Korea, and the Vietnam war. The round has such a psych impact, it can end battles. During Vietnam, the only time Charlie wouldn’t come back to collect his dead was if the engagement involved WP. I don’t know about Army arty, but aboard ship, not many willy peters were carried. Magazine space was at a premium, and the rounds weren’t considered for AP use – only for marking.
U.S. Artillery Observer here. The primary uses for white phosphorous is screening and concealment. Either put the smoke on the enemy so he can’t see anything(but then nobody can see him to suppress with other fires) or put the smoke between the enemy and the route you are taking (better). For best results the round needs to be air bursted, which requires professional adjustement or a proximity fuse. High Explosive rounds followed by WP was Cold War doctrine for attacking Petroleum such as tankers (make holes in the vessels and the WP will set it alight). It is possible the insurgents have these purposes in mind. My guess is that the mujis, who are illiterate and unsophisticated, are using whatever is at hand. There is a lot of misinformation about using WP against personnel. Although it is nasty stuff to get on you, IT IS SIMPLY NOT DOCTRINAIRE to use for that purpose, as there are way more efficient ways to achieve antipersonnel effects.
A reading from the book of Armaments:
FM 6-30 Observed Fire Tactics, Techniques and Procedures.
4-16. SHELL WHITE PHOSPHORUS
Shell white phosphorus (WP) has four uses: incendiary,
marking, obscuring, and screening. It can be used to
destroy the enemy