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-Qaeda fighters considered crucial in turning the tide against extremist violence.
The latest deaths occurred 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 mostly Sunni area is home to many former members of Hussein’s regime and has been the site of U.S. raids.
The U.S. military said a gun battle 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. Police also said two girls were wounded and one later died.
On Monday, the military said it had accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians, including a child, in an airstrike Saturday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq south of Baghdad.
Both 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-Qaeda in Iraq.
Also Tuesday, U.S.-backed tribesmen discovered about 50 bodies in a mass grave in a former al-Qaeda stronghold northwest of Baghdad.
