A US air strike on the Iraqi city of Falluja killed at least 17 people including a woman and three children, Iraqi doctors said early on Thursday.
The US military said in a separate statement it had ‘‘conducted a precision attack’’ on Wednesday evening against two safe houses used by associates of Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in Falluja.
Doctors in Falluja confirmed the deaths of 17 people including three children, one woman and one elderly man.
Earlier on Wednesday Zarqawi associates conducted an execution in southern Falluja, the US statement said. ‘‘The Zarqawi associates were observed removing a man from the trunk of a car, executing him, then burying his body,’’ the statement said.