US air strike kills five bombers in central Iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A pre-dawn US air strike in the central Iraqi Shiite city of Diwaniyah killed five militants trying to plant a bomb on a road, the military said Thursday.

"The coalition engaged six anti-Iraqi force members placing an IED (improvised-explosive device) on a road," the military told AFP. "Initial reports indicate five of the six were killed in the strike."

A local police officer also reported clashes between Shiite Mahdi Army militants and US forces.

"Three militants were killed in the clashes in the city's central Al-Jhamuriyah neighbourhood," he said on condition of anonymity, saying clashes erupted after US forces attacked militants firing mortars on their base.

Since last year Diwaniyah has regularly witnessed severe clashes between Shiite militiamen and US and Iraqi security forces. The city is also a flashpoint for rival Shiite factions battling for supremacy in the region.