US forces launched air strikes on the city of Falluja today against what they said was a meeting of key loyalists of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Iraqi doctors at Falluja Hospital said 16 Iraqis were killed, including women and children.
The Health Ministry in Baghdad put the Iraqi toll at 20 men. The US military said its intelligence suggested only followers of Zarqawi were killed.
Elsewhere, another six Iraqis died after US forces opened fire on a village near the town of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad, Abdel Zahra al-Nasrawi, director of al-Musayib hospital, said. A US spokeswoman had no immediate information.
The Falluja attacks followed one of the most violent days in Iraq in recent months in which at least 110 people were killed in Baghdad and other Iraqi towns.
"Intelligence sources reported the presence of several key Zarqawi operatives who have been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security forces and multinational forces," a US military statement said.
"Intelligence reports indicated that only Zarqawi operatives and associates were at the meeting location at the time of the strike," it said.