An Indian official sent to the media photos of iron rods attached to the spiked nails used by Chinese soldiers during a border fight.

A senior Indian official on the India-China border today sent the BBC a photo showing the rudimentary weapons they obtained at the site of the fight between soldiers of the two countries on June 15.

The official confirmed that the Chinese military used the weapon in the clash that killed at least 20 Indian soldiers.

"The iron nail sticks were collected by Indian soldiers from the confrontation site in the Galwan valley, where Chinese soldiers attacked a group of Indian patrols and killed 20 people. This barbarism must be condemned.

Former Indian parliament president Rahul Gandhi also spoke after seeing the photo.

The Indian and Chinese soldiers' failure to use guns during their clashes stems from a 1996 bilateral agreement that guns and explosive devices were banned along the disputed border to prevent tensions from escalating.

Hours after Gandhi's Twitter post, Secretary of State S Jaishankar confirmed that all border duty soldiers were always carrying weapons, especially when leaving the posts, and the patrol team in Galwan Valley on June 15 also.

China has not yet spoken about the information.

Indian and Chinese soldiers fought in the evening of June 15 in the Galwan valley, in Ladakh region.

China and India both blame each other in the scuffle.