US accused of killing Iraq allies

Leaders of a Sunnite tribal grouping in Republic Of Iraq formed to struggle al-Qaeda say tons of their work force were killed by United States military units in a conflict North of the capital, Baghdad.

One of the leadership of the Taji Awakening Council said airstrikes killed 45 of his pro-US fighters.

The United States armed military units said alliance forces killed 25 suspected insurrectionists in the Taji country at the same clip in an operation targeting al-Qaeda leaders.

A United States statement said arms, including anti-aircraft weapons, had been found.

Conflicting accounts

The statement said military units from the US-led alliance "observed respective armed work force in the mark country [near Taji] and, perceiving hostile intent", called in airstrikes.

Ground combat then ensued followed by more than airstrikes on another nearby location.

Several big weaponry caches were found, including anti-aircraft weapons, United States functionaries said. About 20 captives were taken and no alliance casualties were reported.

The alliance military personnel had been in the country on an operation targeting senior al-Qaeda leadership in cardinal Iraq, the United States statement said.

But leadership of the Taji Awakening Council gave a different version of events.

Sheikh Jassem, the caput of the council, told Reuters news federal agency that 45 of his work force had been killed by United States air work stoppages while they were manning roadblocks.

A self-destruction bomber have targeted a police force convoy in Kirkuk

He said the arms the United States military personnel establish belonged to the Muslim Army, a Sunnite grouping which have recently joined military units with the Americans.

Another council leader, Mansour Abid Salim, said his work force were mistakenly hit by the airstrikes which he tried to name off.

"Right from the first onslaught [Tuesday night], we have got continuously been contacting American commanding officers that they are hitting us, their friends," he told Al-Jazeera television.

An American military spokesman said the arms establish - including anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-surface missiles and wayside bomb-making constituents - are not the type of arms pro-US Iraki reserves like those of the awakening councils usually have.

A figure of Sunnite tribal groupings have got formed awakening councils to assist United States and Iraki authorities military units to struggle al-Qaeda groups. Some of these self-defence reserves include former insurgents.

Separately, in the northern town of Kirkuk, a self-destruction auto bomber targeting a police force force convoy killed at least six people and hurt nearly 20 others, including a senior police official.