US air strike kills three in Baghdad - officials

BAGHDAD, Nov 21 (Reuters) A US air strike in Baghdad's Sadr City district killed at least three people today when US-led forces mounted their latest raid in the hunt for death squads and a kidnapped US soldier, Iraqi officials said.

Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman Abdul Ahdi said the dead included a six-month-old infant and that up to 50 people had been wounded. Other Iraqi officials put the number of wounded at 15.

The Interior Ministry said US and Iraqi forces raided the sprawling slum suburb of about 2 million at 5 am (0730 hrs), sparking clashes with militiamen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The US military said it was checking the reports.

REUTERS SB VV1134