The Norwegian government has apologized to its Instagram followers, after many of them were offended by a picture showing scrumptious Christmas cookies in the shape of flying war machines.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a fleet of fighter jet gingerbread biscuits. Wait, what?

Exactly why the Nordic government is baking festive F-35 biscuits is unknown, but some have speculated that it has something to do with the country being asked to take part in military operations in Syria.

“These ginger snaps come at a bad time,” Instagram user Turabilder wrote, “as the US is pressuring Norway to join the bomb attacks in Syria,” The Local reports.

Norwegian Defense Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that the US has requested military assistance in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Defense Minister Ine Eriksen told NTB there were “questions about contributing fighter jets, logistics support, special forces”.

F-35 aircraft are usually mounted with all manner of deadly weapons, so it is an unusual choice of cookie to ring in the Christmas season with.

Interestingly, Lockheed Martin Corp is busy building new F-35C stealth jets for Norway, which will be “fully loaded with internal weapons”, according to Reuters.

In an attempt to pacify pacifists, an apology and a gingerbread heart were later posted on the account.

A photo posted by regjeringen (@regjeringen) on Dec 7, 2015 at 2:32pm PST

“A government account on Instagram also has a heart. We understand that many people reacted to the post of fighter jet cookies and we of course once again apologize.“

"This account is the government’s official presence on Instagram and each department uses it to show things both big and small from everyday life."

“A continued Merry Christmas to our followers.”