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Central Iran Desert Tour

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Study finds that rise of cancer incidents in Basra is related to US and British militaries use of depleted uranium shells during the first and second Gulf Wars.

October 25, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Cases of child cancer soar in war torn Iraqi cities particularly in the border town of Basra near Iran, a newly released study revealed.

Iran’s Press TV reported due to increasing numbers of children suffering from leukemia and other forms of cancers, the Iraqi government needed to open a specialist clinic in Basra to deal with this issue.

The report says since 1993,Basra province has witnessed a sharp rise in child cancer cases. ‘Leukemia (a type of blood cancer) among children under 15 has increased by about four times,’ specialist Dr. Janan Hassan at the newly inaugurated centre told reporters. He added, ‘most [of the affected children] are high-risk cases, which means that they do not have a high survival rate.’ 

Specialists closely familiar with this issue believe the rise in cancer incidents is related to US and British militaries use of depleted uranium shells during the first and second Gulf Wars.

Depleted uranium is known to cause leukemia and other types of cancers in newborn babies and children. ‘We observed 698 cases of childhood leukemia between 1993 and 2007, ranging between 15 cases in the first year and 56 cases in the final year, reaching a peak of 97 cases in 2006,’ the study says. 

The same study also discovers that number of cancer cases in Basra does not match the ones in neighboring Kuwait, Oman or other regions which would represent an acceptable norm.

Leukemia (a type of blood cancer) among children under 15 has increased by about four times,’ specialist Dr. Janan Hassan at the newly inaugurated centre told reporters.

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