At least 20 Iraqis killed in Ramadi fighting

At least 20 Iraqis were killed in clashes early today in Ramadi, where US ground troops and warplanes have conducted a series of operations over recent days targeting Sunni insurgents, police and medical workers said.

Ali al-Obaidi, a medic at Ramadi Hospital, said those killed were civilians who died in shelling by US tanks in the Dhubat neighbourhood. A police spokesman said 20 people were killed, but gave no information about their identities or how they died.