US says Hellfire missiles kill 12 in Baghdad
Hellfire missiles fired from US planes killed 12 people armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades in two separate incidents in Baghdad on Tuesday, the American military said. A Predator drone fired a missile at "a group of armed criminals with rocket-propelled grenades and a mortar tube in northeast Baghdad" early afternoon, killing 10 people and wounding two, a statement said. Earlier in the day, another unmanned aerial vehicle killed two people and destroyed a mortar tube, also in northeast Baghdad, a separate statement said. "These criminals fired two mortar rounds at coalition forces in northeast Baghdad. Moments later, an unmanned aerial vehicle observed the two criminals covering the tubes with a tarp and then hiding behind an adjacent building." A Hellfire missile was fired at the men, killing them, the statement said. US and Iraqi forces have been engaged in fierce battles in eastern Baghdad against Shiite militiamen since Sunday in which at least 40 people have been killed.
