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The U.S. soldier Omar Khadr is alleged to have killed may have died as a result of friendly fire, Mr. Khadr's lawyers argued at Guantanamo Bay yesterday.

Mr. Khadr's U.S. military defence lawyer, Lieutenant-Commander Bill Kuebler, revealed in court that several accounts of the 2002 gun battle show that U.S. soldiers were throwing grenades when they stormed the Afghan compound containing Mr. Khadr.

Mr. Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade at U.S. troops, mortally wounding a medic. The Canadian was 15 at the time.

"U.S. forces were throwing hand grenades while those troops were in the compound in close proximity to those hand grenades," Cdr. Kuebler told reporters after the court session.

No eyewitnesses saw Mr. Khadr throw the grenade, and it was revealed earlier this year that another fighter was alive in the compound when the medic was killed.

If convicted of the charges against him, Mr. Khadr faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Given the nature of the battle, the revelation that U.S. soldiers were throwing grenades at the time raises the possibility that friendly fire killed the soldier, Cdr. Kuebler told reporters. However, when asked whether any U.S. military witnesses actually suggested friendly fire as a possible cause, he said none did.

Colonel Lawrence Morris, Guantanamo's chief prosecutor, would not comment on the friendly-fire allegation, except to say that if it were made in court, he has no doubt that prosecutors would prove it "groundless."

The suggestion of friendly fire was came during a military commission court hearing yesterday in which new information emerged about Mr. Khadr's six-year saga.

It was also revealed that an official with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs met Thursday with lawyers in the Khadr case in Guantanamo Bay, and showed them a copy of a report compiled by the Americans in the months after the 2002 Afghan battle.

Mr. Khadr's Canadian lawyers had earlier brought a case before the Supreme Court in Ottawa asking the Canadian government to hand over all documents related to Mr. Khadr's case, and a decision on the matter is expected shortly.

According to Cdr. Kuebler, the official showed the lawyers the document as an example of what kind of information could be released if the Supreme Court rules in favour of Mr. Khadr's lawyers. The report was originally deemed classified, but was then declassified when it was handed over to the Canadians.

Military prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay, after reviewing the report, said it may still contain classified information, so Cdr. Kuebler would not comment on its details. However, he said it includes exculpatory information because it contains a description of events that is inconsistent with — and, at times, contradictory to — other reports.

The Canadian copy of the report is especially important because the Americans have since been unable to locate the original copy, meaning the Canadian copy of the report may be the only one still available. In court yesterday, prosecution lawyer Major Jeff Groharing rejected the idea that any information in the report is exculpatory.

It was also revealed in court that the U.S. government had finally found the original copy of a video of Mr. Khadr taken during his time in Afghanistan. The video was found in a locker not far from the Guantanamo Bay courthouse.

At a press conference after court proceedings, Cdr. Kuebler said Mr. Khadr's conviction is effectively a done deal if a trial commences under the current conditions.

"I don't believe anyone can get an acquittal in Guantanamo Bay," he said.

Mr. Khadr is due back in court on May 8.