Three Iraqi civilians killed in artillery accident-US military

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04768876.htm

BAGHDAD, June 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. artillery round landed in a small Iraqi town and police reported afterwards that two civilians were killed in a blast and one woman later died from her wounds, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

Three other people were also reported wounded and six houses were damaged in the town of Hibhib, north of Baghdad, after a U.S. artillery unit fired a 155 mm round during training on Friday, it said in a statement.

"Accident in Diyala (province) kills three, injures three," the statement's headline said.

The incident came at a sensitive time for Iraqi-U.S. relations.

New Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said last week he was losing patience with reports of U.S. killings of Iraqi civilians "by mistake".