American troops involved in a gunbattle near Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday morning killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded three others in a friendly fire incident, officials said.

During a raid targeting a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq network, ground troops began receiving small-arms fire from two separate buildings. An observation helicopter flying above also took fire. The troops returned fire, killing one man and wounding three others who were later identified as Iraqi army soldiers. There was no immediate explanation for how the incident might have occurred.

The wounded were taken for medical treatment.

“Coalition Forces express their deepest sympathies to the family of the Iraqi Army soldier killed,” according to a statement by Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, the Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesperson.

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