Iraq: U.S. air attacks kill 6, wound 15

HILLA, Iraq, April 4 (UPI) -- U.S. military forces called in helicopter strikes during a battle in Hilla, Iraq, that left six dead and 15 wounded, officials said.

Air attacks hit Basra and Hilla Friday amid fighting between Iraqi soldiers and the Mehdi Army militia, al-Sumaria reported Friday. U.S. forces said they took a Mehdi Army militia member into custody.

A car bomb blast Thursday killed three people and injured 10 in western Baghdad's Harithiya District, the network reported.

Al-Qibla was hit with U.S. air attacks Wednesday, killing three family members and injuring three others. U.S. forces confirmed the air attack killed an armed man and demolished a home.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari was the target of an attempted assassination in al-Qibla, which is a base for the Mehdi Army. A Basra police officer said Youssef al-Mousawi, a militia leader, and six others were arrested by army forces.