US air attack 'kills three civilians'

An American airstrike aimed at Basra militants was feared to have killed at least three civilians.

The attack came as the Iraqi government apparently changed tactics aiming to slowly squeeze out the gunmen after a week-long full-scale assault which appears to have had little effect.

The US-led coalition directed “aerial fires” against enemy forces fighting Iraqi troops near the militia stronghold of Qibla in Basra, said a military spokesman.

He later confirmed an American plane conducted the attack.

The military said one militant was killed and a house was destroyed but no civilian deaths were reported.

But witnesses said three people were killed and three others were believed to be buried in the rubble, apparently leading to confusion over the number of casualties.

“While we were preparing for evening prayer, US aircraft bombed this house, we rushed to save survivals but in vain,” one said.

“The father, mother and a young boy were killed and three others were buried under rubble. We evacuated two people and one is still under the rubble.”

Hospital officials said three bodies had been received, including two men and an elderly woman, and two women were wounded in the strike.

The Qibla district where the attack occurred is a Shiite militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the offensive that began March 25.

The airstrike comes as followers of anti-Western cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have accused the Iraqi army of violating an Iranian-brokered agreement to pull his fighters off the streets.