British occupation troops fought killed on Monday at least 30 civilians in Iraq, including women and children.
Fierce fighting erupted in Maysan province when raids by British occupation forces in and around the provincial capital of Amara, US and British military officials said. Troops also launched air raids in the two southern towns of Amara and Mujar al-Kabir.
Maysan provincial council member Latif al-Timimi said 16 "residents" were killed and a woman and child were among another 14 wounded.
"Most of the dead were killed in bombings as they were sleeping on the roofs of their homes. Those killed were residents and not linked to any political party," he said.
Timimi said the council decided at an emergency meeting to demand an apology from British and Iraqi forces, and to suspend work for three days.
Amara health department director Jameel Mohammed said the local hospital had received 16 bodies and admitted 37 wounded people.
British occupation military spokesman Major David Gell confirmed the operation but gave no details.
A spokesman for Iraqi cleric Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr confirmed the Amara raids.
"Last night British forces carried out a mission using helicopters and aircraft in Amara. They used bombs, missiles and small arms fire," said Auda al-Baharani.
Police said at least another 10 people, including five policemen, were killed in similar clashes in and around the southern city of Nasiriyah. Some 59 people were wounded, a police officer said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, meanwhile, said Tehran was considering fresh talks with the United States on security in Iraq after high-level talks on May 28 - the first in 27 years - failed to produce results.
Souce: Al-ManarTV
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