US Drops 18 Tonnes of Explosives on Al-qaida 'safe Havens' in Iraq

American planes yesterday mounted the biggest recent air strikes of the Iraq war, pounding what the US military called al-Qaida "safe havens" south of Baghdad.

US spokesmen said 18 tonnes of explosives were dropped by B-1 bombers and F-16 fighters in 10 minutes on targets in Arab Jabour, a Sunni district of date palm groves on the banks of the Tigris river.

The US military described the raid as "precision air strikes". But a Sunni tribal leader told al-Jazeera TV that many civilians were feared dead and that 300 families had fled. Abdullah al-Jbouri said residents had told him that the noise of the bombing was greater than anything the villagers had heard before, even during the 2003 invasion.

Mahmoud Chiad, who lives on the edge of Arab Jabour, told AP: "We saw US helicopters hovering over the area while the sounds of jet fighters were also heard. Minutes later there were the sounds of big explosions. We saw fire and smoke coming out from some groves. Then the gunfire crackled in the groves."

US commanders claim al-Qaida and other insurgents have been largely pushed out of Baghdad and its environs due to the "surge" of an extra 28,500 troops, and say the fight must now be taken further afield. US forces are focused on gaining control of Diyala province and its most important city, Baqouba, which al-Qaida has declared the capital of its "Islamic caliphate".

Baghdad, a year ago the scene of deadly fighting between rival Sunni and Shia militias, has calmed to the point where some residents who fled have begun returning. Neighbourhoods which were under the control of al-Qaida have been taken over by US-backed Sahwa ("awakening") paramilitaries, who are paid by the US to patrol the streets and man checkpoints.

But the lull is regularly punctuated by car bombs, suicide attacks and shootings. Yesterday a car bomb in eastern Baghdad's Palestine Street killed one, and a roadside bomb claimed two lives in the center of the city. Iraqi security forces found three corpses with gunshot wounds.