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by Our Foreign Desk
UNITED STATES and Iraqi government spokesmen struggled at the weekend to minimise reputational damage from a “friendly fire” incident on Friday that killed 10 Iraqi soldiers.
The incident occurred during a US air strike aimed at Islamic State (Isis) fighters just outside Fallujah.
US military officials have admitted that the incident may have killed “up to 10 soldiers,” but have tried to spread the blame.
The air strike appeared to be “a mistake that involved both sides,” US Defence Secretary Ash Carter claimed on Saturday.
Mr Carter added that both he and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi recognised that “things like this can happen in war.”
The US has insisted that all coalition strikes have Iraqi government approval.
Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said: “The coalition air forces were covering the advance of army ground troops near Fallujah because Iraqi helicopters were not able to fly due to bad weather.
“The final death toll is 10 soldiers killed, including an army officer,” he reported.
The US military said: “The coalition offers condolences on the unfortunate loss of life of brave Iraq security forces on the front lines” and confirmed that an investigation would be launched.
The Iraqi parliament’s defence and security committee demanded that Baghdad take a “tough stance.”
MP Mohammed al-Karbouli argued that the “repetitive targeting” of Iraqi forces raised “suspicions over the credibility of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.”
