AT least 40 Iraqi civilians were killed yesterday in a remote village near the Syrian border after an American helicopter fired on a wedding party, according to Iraqi officials and media reports.

Al Arabiya television said that the attack was launched after guests engaged in the tradition of firing guns in the air in celebration.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, a US military spokesman, said around 40 people had been killed in an attack near the Syrian border, but

insisted that they were suspected foreign fighters.

He disputed reports that the victims were members of a wedding party and said the attack was within the military's rules of engagement.

If the ...