Region | Iraq
Air strikes target Al Qaida
At least 20 suspected Al Qaida militants, including two women, are killed in US air strikes on Iraq, which local officials say were attacks on innocent civilians, while the US president says he is considering a major US strategy change in Iraq.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 December 8, 2006
- Image Credit: AP
- Iraqi soldiers on US-supplied Humvees patrol Iraq's Basra city for the first time on Friday.
Baghdad: Two women were among 20 suspected Al Qaida militants killed during a ground and air operation in Iraq on Friday, the US military said.
Local officials, however, said that the strikes killed more than two dozen innocent civilians, mostly women and children.
The air strikes come a day after US President George W. Bush said he will consider calls for a major strategy change in Iraq.
Coalition troops raided the Thar Thar area, north of Baghdad when they came under militant attack. A clash ensued, killing two suspects.
The military reported that forces targeted the area following intelligence reports that suspected Al Qaida-linked terrorists were in the area.
Militants reportedly continued to open fire, "causing forces to call in close air support... resulting in 18 more armed terrorists killed."
The military said that troops found multiple weapons caches consisting of machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and suicide vests.
Meanwhile, Bush said on Thursday that he will consider calls for a major strategy change in Iraq.
Related Links
- Bush and Blair chart new strategy on Iraq
- 'Region must help war-torn Iraq'
- 12 killed in Baghdad blasts
- 'US not winning war in Iraq'
- Iraq situation grave, says Baker report
- US should withdraw from combat
- Of fruit salads and dogs' dinners
- The ISG report is a non-starter
- America's occupational hazards
- Learn from Iraq war, UN nuke chief urges
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair - who will be heading to the Middle East in efforts to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict - acknowledged on Thursday that the situation in Iraq "is bad".
The two leaders met a day after an Iraq Study Group report said that their war policies had failed and that Iran and Syria must be involved.
News Editor's choice
-
Ukraine leaders fight over Russian language
Violence erupts in Ukraine parliament over a bill to allow use of Russian language in courts, hospitals
-
CBSE: 100% success in many UAE schools
6,000 students from 53 schools meet grade expectations in examinations
-
'I can’t believe he is not going to come back'
Seventeen-year-old boy went missing in Dubai during a visit from Pakistan
