Iraq welcomes US air strike near Baghdad

The first strike south of Baghdad in a more than month-long US air campaign hit a jihadist target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the capital, a security spokesperson said Tuesday.

The first strike south of Baghdad in a more than month-long US air campaign hit a jihadist target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the capital, a security spokesperson said Tuesday.

The US "carried out an important strike against an enemy target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah," southwest of Baghdad, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta told AFP.

Sadr al-Yusufiyah lies in the Euphrates Valley, between the militant stronghold of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and the key battleground of Jurf al-Sakhr, further south.

It is one of the closest frontlines to Baghdad where Iraqi government forces and allied militia have struggled to defend their positions.

The US military had not specified the exact location of the strike but said it was aimed at destroying a jihadist firing position from which Iraq security forces were being attacked.