A US air raid on a Baghdad neighbourhood has killed 14 people and destroyed several houses, according to Iraq's interior minister and police sources.

The attack came at about 3am on Thursday (23:00GMT on Wednesday) in the Washash neighbourhood, a stronghold of the Shia al-Mahdi Army, in the capital's western Mansour district, officials said.

At least 10 people were wounded and were admitted to the nearby al-Yarmuk hospital.

An unnamed interior ministry official was reported as saying: "The attacks on the houses took place while people were sleeping. There were no clashes. The area had been quiet.

"Two to five houses were destroyed. Among the wounded are several women," he said.

US military officials did not immediately comment, but the US military has launched a series of operations, including air attacks, against what it calls rogue elements of the al-Mahdi Army.

It says many of these "rouge elements" have links to Iran, which it says is supplying weapons and training, a charge Tehran denies.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader who commands the al-Mahdi Army, last week ordered the group to suspend its operations for six months.

PHOTO CAPTION

Residents look at the scene of a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad September 6, 2007. (Reuters)

Al-Jazeera