US says air strike kills Iraq al Qaeda fighters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military said it had killed an
al Qaeda militant named Abu Islam and a number of other
fighters in air strikes on Karabila close to Qaim on the Syrian
border on Tuesday.

“Intelligence leads Coalition forces to believe that Abu
Islam and several of his associates were killed in the air
strike,” a spokeswoman said in Baghdad.

Earlier Arab television station Al Jazeera quoted doctors
as saying at least 40 people were killed in an air strike near
Qaim.

Al Jazeera said the U.S. forces had struck Qaim at 2:00
a.m. (2200 GMT on Monday). The U.S. spokeswoman said U.S.-led
forces had “destroyed another terrorist safe haven” at 8:20 am.

“Two 500 pound precision-guided munitions were expended on
each terrorist safe house,” she said, adding that the military
had “confirmatory information” that Abu Islam was dead. She
said she had no precise information on casualties.

Abu Islam is an alias used by several known Islamist
militants.

Qaim lies in the Euphrates valley, which U.S. forces say
serves as a route into Iraq from Syria for foreign Islamist
fighters.

U.S. marines have launched several ground offensives
against insurgents in the area in the past four months but
residents and local officials say Islamist insurgents remain a
significant force in several towns along the river.