An Iraqi fighter jet accidentally dropped a bomb on a Baghdad neighbourhood today, killing at least 12 people on the ground.
According to Iraqi officials, the plane, which was one of several Sukhois used by Iraq in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS), was returning to base when the accident happened.
A military spokesman said that a technical failure caused the Sukhoi jet to malfunction and drop the bomb, which struck houses in the Iraqi capital’s eastern neighbourhood of New Baghdad.
Three children and two women were among those killed; at least 25 others were wounded.
Iraq is experiencing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops.
ISIS is in control of large swaths of the north and west after a blitz last year when Sunni militants captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and the majority of the western Anbar province.[myad]
