Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says an airstrike Friday that killed as many as 10 Iraqi soldiers was a “mistake that involved both sides.”
“These kinds of things happen when you’re fighting side by side as we are,” Carter told reporters aboard the USS Kearsarge in the Persian Gulf, according to CBS News.
He added that the airstrike had “all the indications of being a mistake of the kind that can happen on a dynamic battlefield.”
He said he called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to express condolences.
The Pentagon chief did not provide additional details about the airstrike, which was one of several conducted on Friday targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Carter said the “regrettable” strike was an indication of “how closely we are working with the government” of Iraq to combat ISIS.
#AllTheNews 