At Least Seven Reported Dead After U.S. Helicopter Attack

By ALISSA J. RUBIN

BAGHDAD, September 28 — At least seven young men were killed in an attack late Thursday that witnesses say was launched by an American military helicopter in a suburb outside Baghdad. The young men, the witnesses said, were playing a traditional Ramadan game at the time of the attack.

The American military did not comment immediately on the attack and was checking the report, and the witnesses’ statements could not immediately be verified. The residence was in a district south of Baghdad that is dominated by local militias.

Witnesses reported seeing at least one helicopter gunship in the attack, which took place in al-Saha neighborhood. It was unclear whether the attack was on a house or apartment, or whether the men were gathering outside.

“The American helicopters hovered over the area and then bombed the gathering with rockets and chased and attacked the young people with their machine gun and killed seven and injured more than 10 people,” said Ahmed Aubdulla, 37, a taxi driver.

About 30 young men were playing the game after a meal in which they broke the day’s fast during Ramadan, the witnesses said. The funeral for the men was held today, and the bodies were sent to Najaf.

Hussein Jassim, 61, a shop owner, said that the militia members in the area were no longer active. “All the world knows that the Mahdi Army has been frozen on the orders of our leader Sayyied Moktada al-Sadr, so, targeting this gathering, and saying they are Mahdi Army fighters, is all a lie,” he said.

Graham Bowley contributed reporting from New York.