The US air strikes early on Tuesday targeted suspected al-Qaida hideout near a western Iraqi town close to the Syrian border, killing several militants, the US military said.

"There was a total of three strikes targeting terrorist safe houses and Abu Islam and several of his associates were killed," said a US military spokesman in Baghdad, without clarifying who is Abu Islam.

Earlier, the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television reported that the US aircraft carried out strikes on villages near Qaim, killing more than 40 people and wounding dozens.

"US aircraft pounded a house at about 2:00 a.m. (2200 GMT Monday) in Karabla village," the channel quoted witnesses as saying.

"Thirty people are still under debris and only five wounded civilians were admitted to the medical center, which was also attacked by US aircraft. Some workers were wounded in the attack," medical sources were quoted as saying.

Four hours later, a second house was destroyed by US aircraft in another air strike on al-Salman village near Qaim, killing 15 people, the channel said.

Source: Xinhua