BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military says American-backed Iraqi security forces killed two suspected insurgents and arrested seven others south of Baghdad.
Iraqi officials say the two killed were civilians and complained that the local government had not been notified before Saturday’s raid.
The U.S. military has frequently been criticized for civilian deaths but the issue has surfaced less frequently since American forces turned over security responsibility to the Iraqi government.
The military says troops searched buildings in two areas for an al-Qaida in Iraq leader blamed for car bomb attacks on U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
Karbala provincial council member Sattar al-Ardawi denounced the raids, which he said were not authorized by local authorities.
