10 killed in Iraq violence

Meanwhile, in Mosul, gunmen assassinated a senior member of Iraq’s fledgling armed forces as he travelled to Friday prayers, police said.

Brigadier General Salim Blaish and one of his neighbours, who was travelling with him, were killed in a drive-by shooting.

US forces carried out an air strike on the rebellious city of Falluja on Friday, targeting a group of suspected insurgents linked to Jordanian militant Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the US military said.

‘‘Based on multiple intelligence sources, the attack targeted 10 to 12 terrorists with known ties to the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi network of foreign terrorists,’’ US Air Force Brigadier General Erv Lessel said in a statement.

‘‘The anti-Iraqi forces were struck while in the courtyard of a house; the house was left intact,’’ the statement added.

The latest strike was carried out in coordination with Iraq’s interim government, the statement said.

It did not say if anyone was killed in the operation. However, residents of the area said that at least five people were wounded, two of them children.