Iraq warplane accidentally bombs Baghdad, kills 9
A technical malfunction has caused an Iraqi warplane to drop a bomb over eastern Baghdad, killing nine people and injuring a dozen others.
The incident took place in the capital, Baghdad, in Jadida (New Baghdad) neighborhood near the Rasheed air base on Monday.
"One of the bombs became stuck because of a technical problem, and during its (the aircraft's) return to base it fell on three houses in Baghdad Jadida," security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said in a statement.
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The plane — one of several Sukhois used by Iraq in the fight against the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group — was returning to a base from a bombing run when the accident happened.
The country’s Sukhoi squadron comprises aging aircraft, which have endured heavy use as Baghdad's forces battle to push militants back.
The United States has promised to sell Iraq 36 F-16 warplanes, but none has been delivered so far. The first batch of the jets has instead been sent to Arizona, where Iraqi F-16 pilots are training.
One of the pilots, Brigadier Rasid Mohammed Sadiq, was killed in a crash during an aerial refueling exercise at the end of June.
'US dragging foot'
Iraqi parliamentarian Haider al-Mouli of the National Iraqi Alliance political coalition, meanwhile, said on Monday that Washington was making up excuses to procrastinate the delivery of the warplanes, according to Kurdish TV channel Rûdaw.
The lawmaker said the US has conditioned the delivery on the provision that the jets do not use Iraqi air bases, calling this an excuse to delay the delivery. He also said, “The US refusal to deliver the jets on the due date is in contravention of the security agreement signed between the two countries.”
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