U.S. military probes disputed air strike in Iraq

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday it was investigating reports that Iraqi neighbourhood guards at a town north of Baghdad were killed in an air strike the military had said killed 17 al Qaeda gunmen.

The BBC reported on its Web site this week that residents were bitterly disputing the U.S. military's account of the June 22 helicopter strike on the outskirts of the Shi'ite town of Khalis in Diyala province.

According to residents interviewed by the BBC, the attack killed 11 men and wounded five who were working as guards in the neighbourhood. Residents said those attacked had nothing to do with Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, the BBC said.

The U.S. military issued a statement on June 22 saying attack helicopters killed 17 al Qaeda gunmen southwest of Khalis before dawn that day. It said gunmen had been observed trying to infiltrate the area near Iraqi police, prompting the strike.

In response to queries from Reuters, the U.S. military said that while it was investigating the incident, only the "enemy" had been killed. But it dropped the reference to al Qaeda.

No American or Iraqi forces had been notified about a neighbourhood watch programme being implemented that night or any night in Khalis, nor did security forces approve such a programme, the U.S. military said in an email on Thursday.

It said attack helicopters observed a group of armed men moving in military-like formation through Khalis.

"I consider the 17 armed men as a militia because they were conducting an offensive operation in the vicinity of an IP (Iraqi police) operation," said Colonel David Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander. "We engaged, protected the IP element and killed the enemy."