Pentagon shares blame with Iraq for deadly friendly fire incident

An air strike by the US-led coalition last week killed 10 Iraqi troops, the Iraqi government said on Saturday, in an apparent friendly fire incident in which the US defence secretary says both sides are responsible for.

Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, at a news conference in Baghdad, said one Iraqi officer and nine soldiers were killed in the strike Friday, which took place south of the city of Fallujah, about 65km west of Baghdad.

Obeidi said the death toll announcement was a “correction” to earlier statements that one Iraqi soldier had died – statements that were disputed by soldiers who witnessed the strike.

READ MORE: US claims to have killed Islamic State’s second-in-command Hajji Mutazz during air strikes in Iraq

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said an American aircraft appeared to have conducted the strike, but he said it was “a mistake that involved both sides”. Carter called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday to express his condolences for the deaths.

Speaking during a visit Saturday to the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship stationed in the Persian Gulf, Carter said the details of how the incident took place were not yet clear. US officials are investigating; they declined to give details of how each side may have played a role.

In the call Carter placed from the Kearsarge, he said that both he and Abadi voiced regret about Friday’s loss of life. “It’s tragic,” Carter told reporters. “But he and I both recognised that things like this can happen in war.”

According to the US-led coalition, the strike was one of two that took place around Fallujah. The strikes hit an Islamic State tactical unit, militant vehicles and fighting positions, and a construction vehicle.