Baghdad: A US air strike killed four Shiite militants in the central Iraqi city of Hilla, the American military said.

A military spokesman said yesterday Iraqi police called for US air support after clashing with a number of "special group criminals" in Hilla, about 120 kilometers south of Baghdad.

"Initial reports indicate that four special group criminals were killed in the air strike," the spokesman told AFP.

The US military uses the term "special groups" to refer to renegade elements of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army who are carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians in defiance of his ceasefire pledge.

It claims that members of special groups are trained in Iran in the use of sophisticated weaponry, including rockets and lethal roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators that can cut through the armour of US vehicles.

Gunmen loyal to Sadr have been battling Iraqi troops in the southern city of Basra and in Baghdad in fighting that has killed up to 50 people in two days.

Source : PTI