Pet crematorium burns remains of US soldier

Washington: The Pentagon on Friday announced changes to procedures for the cremation of slain US troops after concerns emerged about the military's use of a crematorium that burns both human and animal remains.

The changes were unveiled late in the day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain called on the Defence Department for an independent investigation into the cremation of a US soldier due to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

In a letter to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, McCain told of a report that one soldier's remains had been cremated at a pet crematorium.

"This report is very disturbing and our men and women in uniform who make the ultimate sacrifice must be treated with dignity," McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and the Senate committee's senior Republican, wrote in the letter.

The Pentagon said it had no evidence that the remains of troops had been treated "inappropriately".