NEWS ALERT: US AIR STRIKE KILLS 8 IRAQI CIVILIANS

The US military in Iraq wants to do everything possible to hold down casualties of US troops as we approach the election in the United States so air strikes have been stepped up, but for all the ballyhoo about "precision bombing" the air strikes are anything but "precision" and the latest "precision bombing" killed 8 Iraqi civilians, including two children.

BEIJING, (Xinhuanet) -- An overnight U.S. air strike hit a village in Iraq's Salahudin province, killing eight civilians, including two children, a provincial police source said on Thursday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/22/content_8229702.htm

The incident occurred when U.S. troops conducted a search operation late on Wednesday in the Mazra'a village near town Beiji, some 200 kilometers north of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua.
Colonel Mudhher al-Qaisi, police chief in the town of Beiji, said the attack was on a group of shepherds in a vehicle in a farming area. Relatives said some of those killed were fleeing on foot after the U.S. military arrived in the area.
"This is a criminal act. It will make the relations between Iraqi citizens and the U.S. forces tense. This will negatively affect security improvements," Qaisi told Reuters. A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Maura Gillen, said the helicopter fired on the vehicle after observing "suspicious activity." She said the driver had ignored warnings to stop.