A reported “technical problem” with an Iraqi Sukhoi warplane caused a bomb to accidentally fall and explode in eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least seven people.
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The bomb hit several houses in the Iraqi capital’s eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad.
As the planes headed for bombing raids on Tikrit, which was largely controlled by the Islamic State, one accidentally bombed a base for pro-government fighters at Tikrit University.
‘Our house was destroyed, ‘ said Ali Jassem, a 27-year-old interior ministry employee.
Iraqi troops and jets, backed by mainly Shia Muslim militia fighters on the ground and a U.S.-led air coalition, have been battling ISIS.
A bomb explosion near an outdoor market killed three people in Mhamoudiya town, just south of Baghdad.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have experienced gruesome violence since ISIL Takfiri militants began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.
Instead, the first batch has been sent to Iraqi pilots training in Arizona.
ISIS was born from al-Qaeda in the hardline areas of Ramadi and Fallujah some time after American forces left Iraq, leaving a power vacuum.
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The coordinated assault reflected an escalation of Islamic State operations in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan. Next door, seven members of one family, including four children, were killed, residents said. Early reports suggested that at least 12 people had been killed, and pictures from the scene show responders walking over the rubble of ruined houses.
