New Delhi, Mar 29 (IANS): Describing the leaking of army chief V.K. Singh's letter to the prime minister as "anti-national", Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Thursday that the government had ordered an Intelligence Bureau (IB) probe into the matter.

"Whoever has leaked the letter… that act is anti-national. We requested IB to inquire into that. Once the report is received, we will take the strongest action," Antony told reporters at the Defence Exposition here.

"We want to find the truth. We will go to any extent to find the truth," the minister said.

In his letter to Manmohan Singh, V.K. Singh pointed to a shortage of arms and ammunition in the armed forces and questioned the Indian Army's fighting capability.

According to reports, the letter, written March 12, states that army tanks have run out of ammunition. The letter emphasizes the need to bridge the shortcomings and bring the army to a fighting level.

The leakage of the letter has shocked the nation, with some political parties the sacking of the army chief, who retires May 31.