A statement from Multinational Force Iraq maintains that it has confirmed that the air strike on Oct. 5 requested to suppress an attack by a large number of individuals resulted “in 25 terrorists killed” despite news reports that those killed were “innocent civilians.” The statement went on: “In this instance, we have confirmed that the 25 criminals who were killed were responsible for the attack on our forces and in fact were members of an extremist group operating in the Baqubah region.”
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.