By Xinhua,
Tikrit, Iraq : U.S. troops shot dead two gunmen apparently relatives of governor of Salahudin province during an operation against Qaida militants on Sunday morning, U.S. military and a local police source said.
A U.S. military statement said that U.S. soldiers raided a house in the town of Beiji, 200 km north of Baghdad, hunting for a wanted Qaida militant, where the soldiers encountered two armed men who had shown “hostile intent.”
The soldiers acted in self-defense and killed the two, the statement said.
A provincial police source told Xinhua that the slain men were a son and nephew of Hamad Hamoud al-Qaisy, the governor Salahudin province.
The U.S. military also said that the soldiers detained two more suspects, one of them was injured during the operation.
Qaisy who is now in Turkey condemned the incident and demanded the U.S. and Iraqi authorities to conduct an investigation, a source in the provincial directorate told Xinhua.
He said that Qaisy ordered to suspend cooperation with the U.S. troops in the province.