Witnesses to US helicopter air strikes in Iraq yesterday are disputing US claims the 70 dead were all insurgents.
It is understood a group of some two dozen Iraqis gathered around the wreckage of a US vehicle and were hit by the air strikes by US warplanes in Iraq's western Anbar province. Witnesses said at least 39 of the dead were civilians while the US claimed it killed 70 "terrorists".
The military claimed in a statement that the crowd was setting another roadside bomb in the location of the blast that killed the Americans. F-15 warplanes hit them with a precision-guided bomb, killing around 20 people, described in a statement as "terrorists."
However, several witnesses and one local leader said the people were civilians who had gathered to look at the wreckage of the US vehicle or pick pieces off of it - as often occurs after a US vehicle is hit.
The other deaths occured in the village of Al-Bu Faraj. The military said a group of gunmen opened fire on a Cobra attack helicopter that had spotted their position. The Cobra returned fire, killing around 10.
The men ran into a nearby house, where gunmen were apparently seen unloading weapons. An F/A-18 warplane struck the building with a bomb, killing 40 insurgents, the military said.
Witnesses said at least 14 of the dead were civilians.