BAGHDAD // An Iraqi Russian-made fighter jet accidentally dropped a bomb over a Baghdad neighborhood on Monday, killing at least 12 people on the ground, Iraqi officials said.
The plane – one of several Sukhois used by Iraq in the fight against the ISIL group – was returning to base when the accident happened.
“One of the bombs became stuck because of a technical problem, and during its [the aircraft’s] return to base it fell on ... houses in Baghdad Jadida,” military spokesman Brig Gen Saad Maan Ibrahim said.
The pilot tried six times to drop the bomb, which became stuck while he was carrying out strikes against the ISIL extremist group, but was unable to dislodge it “mechanically or manually”, the defence ministry said.
But the bomb came loose as the plane overflew Baghdad to land at its base, the ministry said.
Three children and two women were among those killed, a police officer at the scene said. At least 25 others were wounded, the two officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Television footage from the scene showed rescue teams in orange jumpsuits and blue helmets searching through the rubble for victims. At least one victim was seen wrapped with a blanket and being rushed to an ambulance.
Iraq is going through its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops with the ISIL extremists in control of large areas of the country’s territory in the north and the west following a blitz last year when the Sunni militants captured Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul and the majority of the western Anbar province.
The governor of Baghdad province, Ali Al Tamimi, called for the Rasheed air base, where the plane was bound, to be moved to a non-residential area.
Mr Al Tamimi said he contacted the air force and was told the plane was returning from the Haditha area in Anbar province, which is surrounded by ISIL.
The explosion ripped through small houses in Baghdad Jadida, tearing down walls, smashing roofs and leaving bricks and other rubble piled in the street.
“Our house was destroyed,” said Ali Jassem, a 27-year-old interior ministry employee.
Mr Jassem said that if an accidental bombing can happen in an area where there is no fighting, “God knows the extent of the events happening” in combat zones.
Iraq received Sukhoi Su-25 jets from Russia and Iran last year as it sought to bolster its fledgling air force to combat ISIL.
The Su-25s are robust aircraft designed for ground attack missions, but Iraq’s Sukhoi fleet is made up of ageing planes that have seen heavy use as Baghdad’s forces battle to push the extremists back.
The US agreed to sell Baghdad 36 F-16 warplanes, but none have been delivered to Iraq so far.
The first batch of the jets has instead been sent to Arizona, where Iraqi F-16 pilots are training.
* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
