reports by the "sydney morning herald" suggested that "napalm" has been used in the iraq war by us forces. the u.s. department of defense denied this. in august 2003, the san diego union tribune said that u.s. marine pilots and their commanders confirmed the use of mark 77 firebombs on iraqi republican guards during the start of combat. official denials of the use of 'napalm' were, however, disingenuous, as the mk 77 bomb that is currently in service at this time, the mk 77 mod 5, does not use actual napalm (e.g. napalm-b). the last u.s. bomb to use actual napalm was the mark 77 mod 4, the last of which were destroyed in march 2001. the substance used now is a different incendiary mixture. it is sufficiently analogous in its effects that it is still a controversial incendiary, and can still be referred to colloquially as 'napalm.'