US forces kill suspected militiamen in Iraq

US forces backed by attack aircraft killed at least 25 suspected Shiite militia fighters north of Baghdad today as they targeted a cell accused of smuggling weapons from Iran.

The troops were targeting the commander of a rogue militia group believed to be associated with the Quds Force, a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Gunmen opened fire on the soldiers with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, and at least one man was carrying what appeared to be an anti-aircraft weapon, the military said.

Ground forces called for air support when the fighters kept coming toward them and the military said 25 militants were killed and two buildings destroyed in airstrikes.

The military said the targeted commander was responsible for moving weapons from Iran into Baghdad.

A US soldier was killed by small arms fire during operations yesterday in a southern section of the Iraqi capital. The section of the city is used by al Qaida cells as a support zone, the military said.

In today’s pre-dawn raid, US aircraft repeatedly bombed the neighbourhood in Khalis, a Shiite enclave about 50 miles north of Baghdad. At least 25 were killed and 28 were injured.

It was claimed that civilians were killed when they rushed out to help those hurt in the initial bombing.

The US military said it had no reports that any Iraqi civilians were killed as a result of the operation.

US authorities said: “Coalition forces only engage hostile threats and take every precaution to protect innocent civilians.”

The town’s mayor said US forces targeted areas built up by locals to protect their Shiite neighbourhood against attacks by al Qaida gunmen.

Since launching a Baghdad security crackdown more than seven months ago, US troops have increasingly engaged rogue Shiite militiamen and splinter groups from the country’s most powerful Shiite militia, the Mahdi Army.

The US military describes the splinter factions as “extremist” or “criminal” militiamen.