BAGHDAD: Iraq's parliament speaker said an airstrike targeting the Islamic State-held town of Qaim in western Iraq near the Syrian border killed and wounded "dozens" of civilians, and that he is holding the Iraqi government responsible.
It was unclear if the airstrike was carried out by the Iraqi air force or the U.S.-led international coalition supporting the Baghdad government offensive against the Sunni extremist group. Anbar province and Iraqi Defense Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment.
Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. John Dorrian said on Twitter that he coalition did not conduct any strikes in the area around the time of the incident.
"The airstrike hit unarmed civilians in shopping centers in Qaim and caused the killing and wounding of dozens of them," speaker Salim al-Jabouri said in a statement late Wednesday.
He described the incident as a "crime" and urged that the perpetrators "be punished." Al-Jabouri did not provide specifics, or the breakdown of the casualties, but said he holds the Iraqi government responsible and demanded an immediate investigation. He also did not say how he came by the information.
Another Sunni lawmaker, Mohammed al-Karboli, said the fighter jets targeted three markets in Qaim during rush hour, putting the causality figures at 80. He also didn't provide the sourcing of the information.
The IS-linked Aamaq news agency released a nearly two-minute-video late Wednesday purporting to show the aftermath of the airstrike.
The footage shows several bearded men rushing toward a scene where dozens of cars were on fire and some building appear freshly damaged. Several bodies of children and adults, some charred, are also seen lying on the ground.
The Associated Press couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
The town of Qaim, located about 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Baghdad, is still under control of the Islamic State group, along with other small towns in Iraq's western Anbar province.
An Iraqi government offensive has cleared much of the province since late last year. Now, the Iraqi military and allied militias, with the backing of the U.S.-led coalition, are waging an offensive to clear Mosul of IS militants.
Mosul is Iraq's second-largest city and the last major urban bastion of the Islamic State group in the country.