At least seven civilians and two Iraqi troops died on Wednesday when shooting erupted after a joint US-Iraqi raid in the city of Fallujah, Iraqi officials said. According to AFP, the shooting occurred on Wednesday morning in the Jbeil neighbourhood of central Fallujah. A US military spokesman confirmed an "incident" had occurred in the city.
"A joint force from Baghdad was ordered to raid a terrorist's house in Jbeil," said Major General Baha Hussein al-Karkhi, police chief for Anbar province. "Clashes took place when the terrorists fired at the troops. Civilians were caught in the crossfire. Seven were killed and four wounded," he was quoted as saying.
Fallujah police chief Brigadier General Faisal al-Essawi said five houses were raided. According to him, eight civilians were killed, including two women and two children.
Elsewhere, nine Iraqi soldiers were killed on Wednesday by a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Mosul, police said. The off-duty troops were in a minibus on a road heading northwest from Mosul when the vehicle was hit by the bomb at around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), a police official said.
Six other soldiers, all members of the Iraqi army's Third Division, were wounded.
