US troops killed eight members of a local US-backed Iraqi security force and three thieves in an ambush west of Baghdad early today after mistaking them for guerrillas, witnesses said.
Police officer Assem Mohammed said a joint force of the Iraqi police and the US-backed security force of Falluja were chasing thieves in a car shortly after midnight when US soldiers opened fire. Six police and guards were also wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the US military.
"We were chasing a car when the Americans fired at us," Mr Mohammed said from his hospital bed. "They continued firing for about an hour despite our pleas for them to stop and to tell them we are police and security."
Other police officers confirmed Mr Mohammed's report and put the death toll at eight dead guards and three thieves. Earlier reports said 11 police officers had died. The Jordanian military hospital in the area was badly damaged by crossfire.
In a separate incident, a roadside bomb destroyed a US military Humvee west of Baghdad today, wounding three Americans, witnesses said.
They said the vehicle was driving in a convoy on a road outside the town of Falluja, 50 kilometres west of the Iraqi capital, when the bomb exploded.
Guerrillas have killed 69 US soldiers since Washington declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1st. US officials blame the attacks on loyalists of ousted dictator Saddam Husseim and foreign Islamist fighters.