By Manu Raju, CNN Senior Political Reporter, Bill Cameron, WLS AM-890 News

Sen. Mark Kirk’s campaign falsely asserted on its website that the Illinois Republican was a veteran of the Iraq war, a misstatement that comes six years after exaggerations over his military record nearly cost him his state’s Senate seat.

The Republican, now battling for a second term in a tight race in Illinois, stayed in the United States during the Iraq War when he served in the Navy Reserves. But on a public web page on his official campaign website touting his record on veterans’ issues, Kirk was listed as a “veteran of the Iraq war.”

Kirk’s campaign says this was a staff screw-up, but it’s all the more remarkable when you consider what  Kirk himself said this six years ago when he was caught exaggerating his military record then.

“I am not perfect and was careless. I will do better and I will make sure this never happens again,” Kirk said at the time.

While Kirk campaign officials said it was a staff error, the issue resembles the controversy that nearly caused his 2010 Senate campaign to implode. Moreover, Kirk is now running for reelection against Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran who lost both of her legs during combat in Iraq.

Kirk campaign officials said the web page was not meant to be made public, saying that it was supposed to be a private site while edits were being made to the page. The page has since been taken down.

Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl downplayed the error — and instead attacked Duckworth over her tenure leading the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Rather than focus on draft web copy that has yet to go through an approval process, we would welcome the media’s attention on the six military veterans who died waiting for care during Tammy Duckworth’s time at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs,” Artl said.

Duckworth campaign officials declined to comment.

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