US air strike in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 30

U.S. and Iraqi forces killed about 30 people in raids in Baghdad 's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

Photo: US air strike in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 30

"Iraqi and Coalition Forces killed 30 Special Groups Cell terrorists and detained 12 suspected terrorists during operations Wednesday in Sadr City ," the U.S. military said in a statement, informs Reuters.

An official in the office of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said U.S. aircraft had attacked Sadr City 's Tareq neighbourhood before dawn. Hundreds of angry mourners chanted as they carried at least three coffins, draped in Iraqi flags, through Sadr City streets. Family members wept.

Baghdad police imposed a three-day vehicle curfew on Wednesday morning, ahead of an annual pilgrimage to a north Baghdad Shi'ite shrine.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Iran on Wednesday for talks set to focus on bilateral relations and overcoming "terrorism challenges" in Iraq . It was the Iraqi premier's second visit to Tehran in less than a year.

The U.S. has accused Iran of providing money and weapons to Shiite militias in Iraq , but Tehran denies the charges, reports Al Bawaba.