Iraq: Double US air strike on village kills civilians

A double US air strike on an Iraqi village killed around 25 suspected Iranian-linked insurgents on Friday, the military said, with Iraqi officials claiming women and children were among the dead.

The strikes on Jayzani Al-Imam, 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of the capital, came after a ground operation ran into trouble against insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades, the US military said.

The operation was launched to capture an insurgent commander linked to Iranian intelligence agents and believed to be smuggling weapons from Iran, accused by the US of fuelling sectarian conflict in Iraq, it said.

"There were two air strikes; one helicopter, one fixed-wing. There was continued fighting between the two air strikes," US Major Winfield Danielson later told AFP.

Iraqi police spokesman Khudhayir al-Timimi said women and children were among the dead and wounded in the raid, but the Americans said they had no knowledge of civilian casualties.

"Twenty-five people were killed and 40 others wounded, including women and children in the US air strike that targeted Al-Jayzani," Timimi told AFP. Link