But the bomb came loose as they flew over

Iraqi air force officials have accidentally bombed a residential neighbourhood in Baghdad, killing at least seven people.

The missile fell from a Sukhoi warplane following a 'technical issue', flattening three houses in the east of the city, security and medical officials said.

It is understood the pilots had noticed a problem with one of the bombs it was carrying and were returning to their base when the deadly missile came loose, falling from the aircraft on to the Jadida area of the Iraqi capital.

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Tragic: The missile fell from a Sukhoi warplane following a 'technical issue', flattening three houses in the east of the city, security and medical officials said. Pictured, locals rescue an injured child from the rubble

Carnage: It is understood the pilots had noticed a problem with one of the bombs it was carrying and were returning to their base when the deadly missile came loose

In a statement, Iraqi security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan confirmed the accident.

'One of the bombs became stuck because of a technical problem, and during its (the aircraft's) return to base it fell on three houses in Baghdad Jadida,' he said.

The incident came as Sunni extremists targeting Baghdad's Shiite neighbourhoods killed 15 people in and around the Iraqi capital.

Police officials say a bomb exploded near a cafe in al-Obeidi district on the eastern edge of Baghdad last night, killing four people and wounding 14 others.

Another evening bomb blast near a small restaurant killed four people and wounded 11 others in the southeastern suburb of Jisr Diyala.

Earlier, a bomb went off at a bus stop in the northeastern suburbs of the capital, killing four people and wounding nine.

Another bombing near a bus stop killed three people in Baghdad's northwestern district of Shulla.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters.

Rescue workers and locals search for survivors amid the rubble of the accidental Baghdad bombing

Chaos: Iraqi security forces and people stand outside damaged houses after an Iraqi plane accidentally dropped a bomb in Ni'iriya district in Baghdad this morning

BRITISH JIHADI WHO JOINED ISIS AFTER STABBING FOOTBALL FAN IN THE HEAD 'AMONG TEN KILLED' IN RAQQA AIRSTRIKES A British jihadi who fled to Syria after stabbing a football fan in the head has been killed in a U.S. airstrike on Islamic State forces. Abu Rahin Aziz, 32, from Luton, skipped bail and fled the country before serving his 36-week jail sentence for the attack in London. He had stabbed his football fan victim with a pen in the West End for supposedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. It was claimed he was among ten militants killed in the coalitions largest airstrike on Raqqa to date. The credit control operator, who had used the names Abu Abdullah al-Britani and Dugmatimes on social media, has been linked to the radical UK preacher Anjem Choudary. Announcing his death of Twitter, historian Pieter Van Ostaeyen wrote: 'British IS-fighter Abu Abdullah al-Britani (dugmatimes) killed in an American strike.' Advertisement

On Saturday evening, U.S.-led coalition aircraft unleashed a wave of airstrikes targeting the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in eastern Syria in what the coalition said was one of its most sustained aerial operations carried out in Syria to date.

ISIS said at least 10 people were killed and many others wounded in the attacks which activists said triggered successive explosions that shook the city and created panic among residents.

The U.S.-led coalition often targets ISIS-held towns and cities in Syria, but the overnight strikes on Raqqa were rare in their intensity.

In a statement, the coalition said it carried out 18 airstrikes throughout Raqqa province, destroying a number of IS vehicles and 16 bridges.

An earlier statement said the attacks also destroyed vital ISIS-controlled structures and transit routes in Syria.

'The significant airstrikes tonight were executed to deny Daesh the ability to move military capabilities throughout Syria and into Iraq,' said coalition spokesman Lt. Col.

Thomas Gilleran, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

'This was one of the largest deliberate engagements we have conducted to date in Syria, and it will have debilitating effects on Daesh's ability to move' from Raqqa, he said.