Eight Iraqis killed in US air raid

The US plane bombed a residential house in northern Iraq where insurgents were believed to be hiding.

At least eight Iraqis, including two children, were killed when a US plane bombed a residential house in northern Iraq where insurgents were believed to be hiding, Iraqi and US officials said on Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, a team of international monitors started to review contested results from the country's December general election following accusations of fraud by Sunni Arab-based and secular parties.

The US military on Wednesday confirmed it attacked a house in Baiji, 200 kilometres north of Baghdad, late on Tuesday after an unmanned drone spotted three men planting a roadside bomb and then fleeing into the building.

"The individuals were assessed as posing a threat to Iraqi civilians and coalition forces, and the location of the three men was relayed to close air support pilots," said US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson.

"Coalition forces employed precision-guided munitions on the structure," he said, reading from a statement.

Ghadban Nahd Hassan, 56, whose family members were killed in the attack, said 14 people were in the house when it was hit.

"I was with some friends in a small shop 100 metres away from the house when I heard the bombing at around 9:30 PM" Hassan said.