Iraqi police say US kills Sunni allies

A U.S. airstrike struck two checkpoints manned by U.S.-allied Sunni fighters north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing six and injuring two, Iraqi police said.

The U.S. military denied the checkpoint it attacked in the Tigris River city of Samarra was manned by friendly members of the so-called awakening councils and said those killed were behaving suspiciously in an area recently struck by a roadside bomb.

Separately, a roadside bombing northwest of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi civilians, bringing the American death toll since the war's start five years ago closer to 4,000.

A police officer said six members of the awakening councils were killed and two were wounded when the airstrike in Samarra hit two checkpoints about 100 yards apart. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. More