An airstrike by the US-led coalition aimed at Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq has killed nine Iraqi soldiers, according to Iraq’s Defence Minister.
The “friendly fire” incident happened as Iraqi troops were fighting the extremists just outside the IS stronghold of Fallujah on Friday.
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.
Iraq’s Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said: “The coalition air forces were covering the advance of army ground troops near Fallujah because the Iraqi helicopters were not able to fly due to bad weather.
“The final death toll of the strike is nine soldiers killed, including an army officer.”
In a statement, the US military said: “Despite coordination with the Iraqi security forces on the ground, initial reports indicate the possibility one of the strikes resulted in the death of Iraqi soldiers.
“The coalition offers condolences on the unfortunate loss of life of brave Iraq security forces on the front lines in the fight against Daesh (IS).
“To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous incidents of friendly fire in Iraq involving the coalition during the course of Operation Inherent Resolve.”
It said an investigation would be launched into the incident.
Fallujah, 30 miles (50km) west of the capital Baghdad, is IS’s main stronghold in Anbar province.
Iraqi forces, backed by daily coalition airstrikes, have been battling jihadist fighters in the province’s capital Ramadi.
Source: http://news.sky.com/
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