The United States withdrew its troops from Iraq at the end of 2011, but nearly a decade of war may have left a terrifying legacy in the country. According to some residents of Fallujah, American weapons are behind a shocking spike in the number of children born with missing fingers, cleft palates, and other congenital defects.
In the second installment of 'Iraq: After the Americans' (watch the first part here!), Al Jazeera journeys across Iraq to Fallujah, a city that faced the United States' two largest assaults during the war. There, they speak with locals who point to congenital malformations and cancers as parts of the American occupation's legacy.
At Fallujah General Hospital, Doctor Samira Alaani documents each case of birth defects that she sees. In a year-long survey in 2010, Alaani found about five times the international norm for congenital heart defects.
Al Jazeera also spoke with a grave keeper named Hussain Ahmed. "We started receiving the bodies of babies with birth defects, miscarried babies –- an average of 10 to 12 a day," he said.
'Iraq: After the Americans' aired at 6:30 pm ET on Al Jazeera. Watch the full report in the video above.