Mosul (Iraq): Eleven members of a family were killed Sunday in a US military raid at a house in this northern Iraqi city, officials said. The US military said in a statement that five male members of a family, who were militants, killed in the operation.

Three women and three children of the family also died in the attack. One of the militants blew himself up with explosives when the security forces raided the house, the statement said. However, it did not mention whether the people were killed in the blast or in gunfight between security forces and the militants.

An Iraqi security official said that the US soldiers stormed into a house in the western part of the city, killing 11 members of a family. Three women and three children were among the dead, he said requesting anonymity.

Iraqi security forces, who arrived at the scene later, rescued a three-year-old child and a three-month-old baby from the house, he added. The Nineveh province, where Mosul is located, some 400 km north of Baghdad, is considered to be a stronghold of the Al Qaeda militants in Iraq.

Source : IANS