Blake Hall
United States Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter admitted Saturday that the U.S. military, along with the coalition they lead, were responsible for errant airstrikes Friday near the western city of Fallujah that accidentally killed more than a few Iraqi soldiers.
The Pentagon boss said as much while on the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship that supports missions against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.
According to Iraqi officials, ten of their soldiers were killed. However, that number has not been confirmed by anyone representing the U.S. or the coalition.
It’s been confirmed by several media sources that it’s the first friendly fire incident in the coalition’s war to eliminate the terror group.
Carter also said that the strike was “a mistake that involved both sides” and that he had phoned Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to express his sorrow.
“These kinds of things happen when you’re fighting side by side as we are,” Carter told reporters, in his distinct indistinct Pentagon babble. “[The incident] has all the indications of being a mistake of the kind that can happen on a dynamic battlefield.”