By Dean Yates BAGHDAD, June 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday it was investigating reports that Iraqi neighbourhood guards at a town north of Baghdad were killed in an air strike the military had said killed 17 al Qaeda gunmen. The BBC reported on its Web site this week that residents were bitterly disputing the U.S. military's account of the June 22 helicopter strike on the outskirts of the Shi'ite town of Khalis in Diyala province. According to residents interviewed by the BBC, the attack killed 11 men and wounded five who were working as guards in the neighbourhood. Residents said those attacked had nothing to do with Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, the BBC said. The U.S. military issued a statement on June 22 saying attack helicopters killed 17 al Qaeda gunmen southwest of Khalis before dawn that day. It said gunmen had been observed trying to infiltrate the area near Iraqi police, prompting the strike. In response to queries from Reuters, the U.S. military said that while it was investigating the incident, only the "enemy" had been killed. But it dropped the reference to al Qaeda. No American or Iraqi forces had been notified about a neighbourhood watch programme being implemented that night or any night in Khalis, nor did security forces approve such a programme, the U.S. military said in an email on Thursday. It said attack helicopters observed a group of armed men moving in military-like formation through Khalis. "I consider the 17 armed men as a militia because they were conducting an offensive operation in the vicinity of an IP (Iraqi police) operation," said Colonel David Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander. "We engaged, protected the IP element and killed the enemy." According to residents, the guards were helping an Iraqi police unit raid a suspected insurgent hideout minutes before the air attack on June 22, the BBC reported. The guards were armed with AK-47 assault rifles. The insurgent hideout turned out to be a false alarm, but as police and guards began to return, the police received a radio message saying U.S. helicopters were about to raid the area. While the police managed to get away, the guards were hit by a rocket strike by American helicopters. Other guards at their base at an unfinished building nearby were also hit. The rockets were followed by strafing by heavy machinegun fire from the helicopters, the BBC reported. Tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops are engaged in an offensive against al Qaeda in an attempt to take down its car bomb networks. One of the major planks of this effort is Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diyala. The U.S. military said earlier on Thursday it had killed at least 60 al Qaeda operatives in the 10-day offensive in the area. Given the danger in Iraq, it is difficult for reporters to independently verify official accounts of attacks.
