MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Iraqi pilots have mistakenly provided the Islamic State (IS) militants with humanitarian aid, NBC News report.
"Some pilots, instead of dropping these supplies [supplies of food, water and ammunition] over the area of the Iraqi army, threw it over the area that is controlled by ISIS fighters," Hakim Al-Zamili, a member of the Security and Defense committee of the Iraqi Parliament, told NBC News on Tuesday. "Those soldiers were in deadly need of these supplies, but because of the wrong plans of the commanders in the Iraqi army and lack of experience of the pilots, we in a way or another helped ISIS fighters to kill our soldiers," he added.
The incident was also confirmed by the brigadier-general in Iraq's Defense Ministry, who declined to be named.
"Yes, that's what had happened," the officer said, explaining that some pilots "do not have enough experience … they are all young and new."
The incident occurred on September 19 in Anbar province. The supplies were designated for Iraqi army officers and soldiers fighting Islamist extremists. The investigation on the mistake has already been launched.
The Islamic State is a Sunni jihadi group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it launched an offensive in Iraq, seizing vast areas in both countries and announcing the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
