US warplanes struck an alleged hide-out where operatives from an al Qaida-linked group had gathered today killing at least 20 people.

US warplanes pounded a suspected hideout of al-Qaida-linked militants in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah today, killing at least 20 people and wounding 29.

US warplanes and artillery units bombed the Sunni militant stronghold of Fallujah today, killing at least nine people and wounding 12 others, hospital officials and witnesses said.

US warplanes pounded the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and a northern town astride a major smuggling route today, killing dozens of people in the two attacks.

Four people were killed in shelling at a checkpoint of the Fallujah Brigade, which had been patrolling the city since April, security and hospital officials said.

A US airstrike on the volatile city of Fallujah killed nine civilians, including three children, and wounded six others, a hospital said.

Fierce fighting between US marines, backed by fighter aircraft, and insurgents using small arms and mortars in the volatile city of Fallujah killed 13 Iraqis and wounded 14 others, hospital officials said today.

AMERICAN soldiers opened fire on Iraqi protesters, killing 13 people, including three boys thought to be 10 years old.

US soldiers opened fire on Iraqi protesters in a town west of Baghdad after being shot at, a US officer said today.