US airstrikes destroyed at least two houses west of Baghdad last night, killing five alleged insurgents, two women and a child.
Residents put the death toll in the village of al-Lihaib near the town of Garma said as many as 24 people had been killed and some buildings levelled.
The US military said today: "Recent intelligence reports indicated the targeted building was being used to harbour foreign fighters. Intelligence reports also verified that several men were present at the targeted building during the time of the raid.
"After the air strike destroyed the building, Coalition forces were able to determine that five terrorists, along with two women and one child, were killed."
It said a sixth insurgent had been killed and three detained by ground forces.
The village is in western Anbar province, where the Sunni insurgency against US forces and the Shi'ite-led government is strongest. An F-16 warplane crashed in the Garma area last week during fierce battles between insurgents and US forces.
The body of the pilot, who was killed in the crash, has not been seen since, and the US military suspects it was taken from the crash site by militants.
Meanwhile, the death toll from yesterday's triple car bombing at a food market in a predominantly Shi'ite area in central Baghdad, rose to 53 civilians dead and 121 wounded.