Baghdad, March 28 (RHC)-- Iraqi officials say nine of their forces have been accidentally killed in an airstrike as part of the U.S.-backed effort to retake the city of Tikrit from the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
U.S.-led airstrikes began Wednesday, prompting thousands of Iranian-backed Shiite militias who were fighting alongside the Iraqis to abandon the battle and retreat. U.S. Army General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, assured U.S. lawmakers that there are no Shiite militias in Tikrit.
