Iraqi military pilots mistakenly provided food, ammunition, water and other supplies to Islamic State militants in mid-September, two officials told NBC News Tuesday.
A senior Iraqi security official and brigadier-general said supplies intended for Iraqi soldiers who had been combatting the terror group were accidentally dropped in enemy territory on September 19th.
Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster II cargo plane is seen over the Pardubice Airport on September 18, 2014 in Pardubice, Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is starting to send 500 tons of ammunitions for Iraqi Kurdish militias to fight Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq. The Czech army is using Canada's Globemaster military transport aircraft. (Getty Images)
“Some pilots, instead of dropping these supplies 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 Iraqi parliament who sits on the Security and Defense committee, told NBC News.
“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.
Canadian and Czech soldiers load ammunition onto a Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster II cargo plane at Pardubice Airport on September 18, 2014 in Pardubice, Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is starting to send 500 tons of ammunitions for Iraqi Kurdish militias to fight Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq. The Czech army is using Canada's Globemaster military transport aircraft. (Getty Images)
A brigadier-general in Iraq’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the incident.
“Yes, that’s what happened,” the unidentified official told NBC News, adding that some members of the Iraqi military “do not have enough experience … they are all young and new.”
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
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