Afghan rulers charge US, Britain supplied chemicals

In its first such accusation, the Soviet-backed regime in Afghanistan charged the United States and Britain supplied chemical weapons used in battle by anticommunist guerrillas, diplomats say.

Although the Soviet troops in Afghanistan have been suspected of employing chemical weapons, the Marxist Afghan Defense Ministry claimed it was the guerrillas who used chemical weapons, diplomats said. It was impossible to confirm the allegation, which may be a propaganda ploy against US charges that the Soviets were using chemical weapons in Afghanistan and Kampuchea.