(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis)
The U.S. government is disputing media reports that a coalition aircraft accidentally bombed an Iraqi unit’s headquarters near Ramadi on Wednesday.
Reuters cited an unnamed Iraqi military source on Thursday, who said that a coalition aircraft accidentally attacked an Iraqi unit’s headquarters near Ramadi, killing 22 Iraqi troops. Reuters later updated its story with a quote from a U.S. military spokesman that no coalition aircraft were involved with the attack.
Still, Iraqi media and Anti war.com continued to report that a U.S. airstrike killed the Iraqi troops, prompting the U.S. Embassy to issue a statement pushing back on “recent false news reports.”
“United States aircraft were not involved in reported casualties suffered by Iraqi Security Forces in Ramadi,” the statement says. “No coalition aircraft were operating in the area of the reported deaths. This can be easily verified, since all coalition airstrikes are conducted with the approval of the Iraq Security Forces.”
A Defense Department spokeswoman said the only coalition airstrike in the Ramadi region on Wednesday was 33 kilometers away from where the Iraqi troops were killed.
