Heavy US bombardment of Kut killed 75 Iraqis and injured more than 150, adding to 24 hours of violence which left 165 people dead and some 600 wounded across the country.
Iraq's health ministry said Thursday the dead included 44 in Baghdad clashes, 25 in the fighting at the holy city of Najaf, 14 in Amara and seven in Diwaniya, as well as the casualties in Kut.
Kut hospital director Khader Fadal Arar said many of the dead and wounded were women and children. "We have 75 killed and 148 wounded, according to what the hospitals in Kut have told us," said spokeswoman May Abdul Karim.
"American planes started bombing the al-Shakia district, in southern Kut after 3am," said Arar, according to AFP."They destroyed 18 houses," he conveyed. (albawaba.com)
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