Basra strike targets Iraqi militia
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Residents of Basra have been streaming out of the city for days.
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BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. aircraft attacked and destroyed a two-story building in Basra where an estimated 200 Iraqi militiamen were meeting Friday, the U.S. Central Command said early Saturday.
Two U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, using laser-guided munitions, destroyed the building, which a Central Command official described as an "emerging target." The men inside were described as "Iraqi regime terror squad members," but it was not clear to what organization they belonged.
A Christian church about 300 yards away was undamaged, according to CentCom. A delayed fuse allowed the bombs to penetrate the building before detonation, to minimize damage to other structures, officials said.
Coalition forces trying to secure Basra, Iraq's second largest city, have been engaged in running battles with Iraqi irregulars, some wearing civilian clothes. Earlier Friday, Iraqi militia fired on Iraqi civilians trying to flee Basra across a bridge toward British lines, British military officials said.
The home base of the planes involved in the attack is Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C.
On Friday, British soldiers said for the first time they saw Iraqi forces fire on civilians.
British officials said the Iraqi militia fired machine guns and mortars at hundreds of men, women and children when residents of Basra tried to flee over a bridge toward waiting British troops. (Basra under seige)
An Iraqi prisoner of war being interrogated by British authorities said before "Operation Iraqi Freedom," Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had about 4,000 militia members in Basra, CNN Senior International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour said.
