Desert house was legitimate target - US army

The US military has insisted it hit a legitimate target in an air and ground strike in western Iraq last week, despite evidence…

The US military has insisted it hit a legitimate target in an air and ground strike in western Iraq last week, despite evidence that many of those who died were part of a wedding party.

"We still don't believe that there was a wedding or a wedding party going on when we hit in the early hours of the morning," a senior military official told reporters.

"Could there have been some sort of celebration going on earlier? Certainly. It could be that there was a wedding party and that could have broken up by about 18.00 (2.00 p.m.Irish time) that evening," said the official, who declined to be identified.

"There are still a lot of inconsistencies that still need to be worked out and that is why we're doing an investigation and we're going to take a hard look at this. We haven't denied anything. We're open to whatever evidence may come forward."

READ MORE

At least one person filmed in the wedding footage - a keyboard player - appears in later footage shortly before he is to be buried, wearing the same clothes.

Doctors and relatives of the families say up to 45 people were killed in the strike before dawn last Wednesday, including several women and children.