ON BOARD THE USS KEARSARGE A U.S. aircraft appears to have mistakenly carried out an air strike that killed Iraqi security forces near the city of Fallujah, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday. An investigation has been opened.
Advertisement
The US military had said the incident may have killed “up to 10 soldiers”, adding that the strikes were in response to requests and information provided by Iraqi security forces on the ground near the city. Iraqi troops with coalition forces have been preparing to try to recapture that territory.
However, the head of the defense and security committee of the Iraqi parliament, Hakim al-Zameli, put the casualty figures far higher, saying at least 20 Iraqi troops were killed and 30 others injured in the attack. Because of poor weather, the command said, the coalition was asked to step in. It said the airstrikes were done in co-ordination with Iraqi forces.
Iraqi soldiers fire towards Islamic State (IS) group positions in the Garma district of Anbar province west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, on May 19, 2015.
Army Col. Steve Warren, a USA military spokesman in Baghdad, said the strike is under investigation. They called in coalition airstrikes, with the first two strikes giving them a significant boost, allowing them to advance quite a bit.
The report is likely to provide fresh material for critics of US military assistance in Iraq, where conspiracy theories that the United States is supporting the Islamic State, rather than fighting it, are widespread.
“We take great measure to prevent these types of incidents while protecting our partnered forces”, the statement said.
Advertisement
The Iraqi army has been locked in fierce battle with ISIS militants in Fallujah and surrounding areas for six months.
