BEIJING, Jan. 9 --A US air strike has flattened a villa, killing five civilians inside, in an attack likely to stir anti-US anger ahead of the January 30th election.

    Furious residents of the northern Iraqi village claim 14 people were killed in the blast.

    The American military said it was investigating the incident in Aaytha, southeast of the city of Mosul, but could not confirm whether U.S. forces were behind the attack.

    On Saturday, a suicide bomb killed four people near a checkpoint south of Baghdad, while militants abducted three senior Iraqi officials, the latest attacks in a guerrilla campaign to sow chaos ahead of the elections.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)