US Helicopter Kills 8 Civilians in Iraq

Colonel Mudhher al-Qaisi, Baiji's police chief, told Reuters news agency on Thursday that the attack targeted a car of shepherds who were in a farming area in the town late on Wednesday.

"This is a criminal act. It will make the relations between Iraqi citizens and the US forces tense. This will negatively affect security improvements," al-Qaisi said. Police Major Ahmed Hussein said two boys aged eight and 11 were among the victims.

A doctor who asked not to be named said Baiji hospital received eight bodies after the incident, including a 60-year-old man.  Reuters photographs showed relatives of the dead standing beside their corpses covered by white sheets outside a mosque in Baiji, 180km north of Baghdad.  Lieutenant-Colonel Maura Gillen, a US military spokeswoman, said the military was following up the incident, in which "suspicious activity" had been noted and warnings to stop the car were ignored.