US under fire for wedding strike, new abuse photos

THE US-led coalition in Iraq was reeling after US troops were accused of killing 40 people in a helicopter strike on a wedding party and new pictures were released showing grinning soldiers standing over dead Iraqi prisoners.

Residents of the town of Qaim, on the Syrian border, said US helicopters targeted a neighbourhood early on Wednesday where a wedding was being held, with witnesses and reports saying 40 people were killed.

The Arab news channel Al-Arabiya aired footage of bodies loaded on trucks, which it said included those of women and children.