US soldiers’ death in Iraq due to artillery 'mishap'
The two American soldiers killed in northern Iraq on Sunday lost their lives due to a US artillery "mishap," says a Pentagon spokesman.
Army Colonel Rob Manning said Monday that “a mishap occurred" as a US Army artillery unit was targeting a mortar position of the Daesh Takfiri terror group.
Five other soldiers sustained injuries, which Manning said were not life-threatening.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, the US colonel asserted that there was “no indication” that Daesh (ISIL) could have played a role in the deaths.
The names of the dead soldiers have not been released as an investigation is underway.
As it announced the news Sunday, the US military rushed to say that the incident did not involve enemy fire without elaborating on other details.
Daesh has, meanwhile, proclaimed that it is responsible for the two deaths.
The slain troops were part of the so-called US-led coalition, which is allegedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in Iraq and was later expanded to include territories in eastern and northern Syria.
On Friday, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) indicated that Daesh and US forces are in cahoots.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis said during a press conference in the capital Baghdad that there was evidence to prove American aircraft had made landings on ISIL-occupied territory in Iraq.
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Last month, Iraqi forces fully recaptured Daesh’s self-proclaimed “capital” in the Arab country, Mosul, the country’s second largest city.
The US and its allies have been conducting a campaign of airstrikes against what they say are Daesh positions inside Iraq and Syria but the air raids have not fulfilled their declared aim of dislodging Daesh.
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