US denies targeting wedding celebration

The US has denied its forces targeted a wedding party in an air strike which killed more than 40 people. The helicopter gunship attack, near Iraq's border with Syria, claimed several children among its victims.

But the American military claimed its desert target had been a suspected safehouse for foreign fighters from Syria.

Military officials in Washington refused to address the question of whether anyone from the wedding party was among the people killed but said in

a statement that troops had come under fire and "close air support was provided".

According to Lt-Col Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of Ramadi, between 42 and 45 people died, including 15 children and 10 women.

TV footage showed a truck containing bloodied bodies piled on top of each other. Among the dead was a girl who appeared to be less than five years old. Her legs were riddled with wounds and her dress soaked in blood.