9 Iraqi soldiers killed in 'friendly fire' incident, says Iraqi defence minister

A U.S. aircraft appears to have mistakenly carried out an airstrike that killed Iraqi security forces near the city of Fallujah, U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday.

The Iraqi Minister of Defence Khaled al-Obeidi said earlier that nine soldiers died in the strike on Friday.

The U.S. military is leading an international coalition that is waging an air offensive on ISIS, where the militant group controls large swaths of territory. Obeidi told a news conference that the strike occurred when coalition air forces were covering the advance of Iraqi ground troops near Fallujah because the Iraqi army helicopters were not able to fly due to the bad weather.

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Carter said he spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi by phone on Saturday to express his condolences over the deaths.

He said it appeared a U.S. aircraft had carried out the air strike. "That's the information I have now," he told reporters while on a trip to the Middle East. "He [Abadi] and I agreed that this was an event that we both regretted and that there would be an investigation of it, but that these kinds of things happen when you're fighting side by side."

Carter met with Abadi this week during a brief visit to Baghdad to assess the state of the campaign against ISIS.

"These kinds of things happen when you're fighting side by side as we are," Carter said. He said the airstrike Friday "has all the indications of being a mistake of the kind that can happen on a dynamic battlefield."

Carter, who spent two days in Iraq this past week, called Abadi from the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship supporting coalition missions in Iraq and Syria against ISIS militants. The Kearsarge carries a Marine expeditionary unit and naval aircraft.

The Pentagon chief did not provide details about the airstrike, which the U.S. military headquarters in charge of the war effort in Syria and Iraq said was one of several it conducted Friday against ISIS targets.

A senior U.S. defence official said there was fog in that area and that weather may have played a role in the incident. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Carter said he told Abadi that the U.S. was investigating and would work with the Iraqis.

Asked if he was worried the deaths might further anger Iraqi citizens who may not be happy with the American and coalition presence in Iraq, Carter said, "I hope Iraqis will understand that this is a reflection of things that happen in combat. But it's also a reflection of how closely we are working with the government" of Iraq.

When asked how many Iraqis may have been killed, the U.S. military command known as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said, "The coalition is investigating the incident and will make further details available when appropriate."