AP PHOTO/ SENIOR AIRMAN MATTHEW BRUCH, U.S. AIR FORCE
The US coalition’s airstrike has killed at least 20 pro-government tribal fighters near the Iraqi city of Mosul.
The Sunni tribal forces were killed on October 5 in the Qayyara region, 60 kilometers from the key ISIS stonghold of Mosul.
“This most likely was from a coalition air strike. Right now, we are still getting information,” a US senior defense official told AFP, adding the strike had been “what we unfortunately call a blue-on-green incident.” This means that it was likely an ‘accident’.
The US-led coalition and Iraqi military are investigating the incident.
“We are aware of the alleged reports that coalition forces mistakenly fired on Sunni tribal fighters,” Anderson said during a news briefing on Wednesday. “We are looking into this to determine the facts that surround the case,” Canadian Brigadier-General David Anderson said.
The group of tribal fighters, led by Sheikh Nazhan Sakhr al-Lihaybi, had reportedly just finished repelling an attack of the ISIS terrorist group when it was hit by air strike. It seems bombing forces fighting ISIS has become a common thing for the US-led coalition’s air power.
