A social media account under the name ‘Tom Cat’ that follows security issues in Iraq reported that a checkpoint from the Federal Police 3rd division had been mistakenly targeted.
By Seth J. Frantzman
April 26, 2019 13:12
On April 24 an Iraqi Federal police member was killed and two others wounded in an airstrike carried out by the US-led anti-ISIS Coalition, a spokesperson for the operation has said. Over the last forty-eight hours social media accounts had reported the incident in the region of Hawija, around 280 km north of Baghdad.
A social media account under the name ‘Tom Cat’ that follows security issues in Iraq reported that a checkpoint from the Federal Police 3rd division had been mistakenly targeted on April 24. At the same time the Coalition, he wrote, had carried out other airstrikes on Wadi Shai, south of Daquq. Iraqi Security Forces have been conducting large scale operations against ISIS in the area of Hamreen mountains not far from Hawija. The whole area has been threatened by ISIS since last summer as ISIS cells continue to infiltrate rural areas or hide in caves.
In response to an inquiry from The Jerusalem Post the Coalition’s Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve media desk confirmed that an incident took place. “On April 24, one Iraqi Federal Police member was reportedly killed and two were wounded by Coalition Forces supporting Iraqi Security Force counter-Daesh operations near al-Dib, Iraq. The wounded are in stable condition and receiving medical care. The incident is under investigation.”
It is rare for Coalition aircraft to cause casualties among friendly Iraqi security forces. Throughout the anti-ISIS war, despite the complexity of the operations, aircraft have rarely harmed Iraqi forces or the numerous Iraqi paramilitary and militia forces that were fighting ISIS. The anti-ISIS Coalition has seventy-nine members and has trained more than 190,000 Iraqis since the war on ISIS began in 2014. In 2017 most of Iraq was liberated from ISIS but the group continues to pose a threat. In addition the Coalition’s aircraft continue to support Iraqi forces where necessary, striking at ISIS members in rural areas.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/The-US-is-investigating-an-airstrike-that-killed-Iraqi-forces-587936.