Nine killed in Fallujah airstrike

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

The strike hit a residential house in the southern neighbourhood of al-Jubail, according to witnesses.

US forces have repeatedly carried out airstrikes in Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, since Marines ended a three-week siege of the city in April aimed at rooting out Sunni Muslim insurgents.

The strike killed nine and wounded six, some of whom were in critical condition, said Dr Ahmed Hamid, of Fallujah General Hospital.

There was no immediate comment from the US military, but US forces have routinely bombed targets there which it describes as insurgent safe houses or strongholds.