U.S. kills "known terrorist" and 45 more people together with him

U.S. warplanes struck three suspected al-Qaida targets near the Syrian border, killing what the U.S. military called a "known terrorist."

Iraqi officials said 45 people died, mostly in fighting between an Iraqi tribe that supports the foreign fighters and another that opposes them.

The U.S. airstrikes, which included 500-pound GBU-12 guided bombs, began about 6:20 a.m. in a cluster of towns near Qaim along the Syrian border 200 miles northwest of Baghdad, a U.S. statement said.

It made no mention of tribal fighting but said four bombs were used to destroy a house occupied by "terrorists" outside the town of Husaybah, the AP says.

Two more bombs destroyed a second house in Husaybah, occupied by Abu Islam, described as "a known terrorist," the statement added.

"Islam and several other suspected terrorists were killed in that attack," the statement said.

Several of Islam's associates fled his house in Husaybah for the nearby town of Karabilah, the statement said, citing intelligence reports.

"Around 8:30 a.m., a strike was conducted on the house in Karabilah using two precision-guided bombs," the statement said.

"Several terrorists were killed in the strike but exact numbers are not known."

The Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq urged the government to "stop criminals and terrorists from crossing into Iraq."