Medics in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are appealing to the international community for an investigation into an unnatural increase in birth defects, which they say are up by 15 times compared to pre-war levels.

Raed Jarrar, who is an Iraqi consultant at the American Friends Service Committee, has shared with RT some of his findings on the site concerning disastrous health and environmental effects of US weapons.

He said in the 1991 and in 2003 Iraq campaigns, the US often used depleted uranium (DU) bullets against Iraqi tanks. As a result, the Iraqi people have been exposed to excess radiation for more than ten years:

“I went with a Geiger counter to see radiation effects. Radiation in some of these areas was 2,000 times higher than regular background radiation. There were tanks in neighborhoods, with children playing in them. Some of the depleted uranium bullets went down into the ground and contaminated the surface water. So the effects are… they are scary,” said Jarrar, adding that “many of these things would constitute war crimes.”