Special report: Al-Qaida's chief Zarqawi killed

    BAGHDAD, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven militants close to senior al-Qaida members in Iraq were killed in a U.S. air strike on Monday near Baquba in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement.

    "Coalition forces killed seven terrorists, wounded three, and detained an additional two terrorists during a raid in the vicinity of Baquba June 12," said the statement.

    It said that the targeted terrorists had ties to senior al-Qaida members in Iraq and were accused of facilitating foreign fighters in the area.

    It said that coalition forces received enemy machine gun fire from a rooftop when arriving at the scene and then coalition aircraft struck the hideout, killing seven.

    It also said that two children were killed and one child wounded in the raid.

    Last Wednesday, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air raid near Baquba, 60 km north of Baghdad. Enditem