Iraqi fighter jet drops bomb over Baghdad, kills 12 people
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 Islamic State group — was returning to base when the accident happened.
Military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim, told The Associated Press that a technical failure caused the Sukhoi jet to malfunction and drop the bomb, which hit a number of houses in the Iraqi capital’s eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad.
Three children and two women were among the 12 killed, a police officer at the scene and a medical official at a nearby hospital said. At least 25 others were wounded, the two officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.