New Iraq incident heightens furor over civilian deaths

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military faced complaints Tuesday from its Sunni allies over claims that more civilians had been killed by American forces — amplifying tensions as the Pentagon tries to calm anger over an airstrike last week that claimed innocent lives.

The disputes have further strained ties with anti-al-Qaida fighters considered crucial in turning the tide against extremist violence.

Many former Sunni insurgents and tribal leaders have joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The latest deaths occurred Tuesday when U.S. soldiers — acting on tips — stormed a squat mud-brick house in the village of Adwar, 10 miles south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The predominantly Sunni area is home to many former members of Saddam's regime, and has been the frequent site of American raids.

The U.S. military said a gunbattle broke out after the troops came under small-arms fire by two suspected terrorists. It acknowledged a woman was killed and a child was wounded, but said it was not clear who shot them.

Two other men were killed and the military described them as insurgents.

But Iraqi police, relatives and neighbors said a couple and their 19-year-old son were shot to death in their beds. Iraqi police also said two girls were wounded and one later died.

It was the second time in as many days that the U.S. military conceded involvement in the death of Iraqi civilians. On Monday, the military said it had accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians, including a child, in an airstrike Saturday targeting al-Qaida in Iraq south of Baghdad.

"Such acts by U.S. soldiers cannot be justified, and they will create mistrust and arouse suspicions between U.S. Army and members of the awakening councils," said Abu Muthanna, a leader of a U.S.-backed anti-al-Qaida group in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Azamiyah.

The U.S. raids on Saturday and Tuesday were based on what the military said was intelligence gleaned from informants. That raised the possibility that the military was misled into targeting the households, perhaps as part of an insurgent campaign to derail the U.S.-backed Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq.

In Tuesday's incident, the U.S. military said U.S. soldiers killed the two men in self-defense.

But the head of Adwar's Awakening Council, Col. Mutasim Ahmed, said one of the men killed was a U.S.-allied fighter and said it appeared gunmen were positioned near the house and attacked the Americans, provoking return fire.

Kareem Talea Hamad, a cousin of one of those killed Tuesday, said U.S. soldiers opened the house's door and opened fire at once, killing its unarmed residents: father Ali Hamad Shihab, 55; his wife, Naeimah Ali Sulaiman, 40; and their son Diaa Ali, who was a member of the local Awakening Council.