Iraq: 70 killed as US warplanes bomb militants

US warplanes and helicopters bombed two villages near the city of Ramadi, a hotbed of Sunni-Arab insurgents west of Baghdad, killing an estimated 70 m

US warplanes and helicopters bombed two villages near the city of Ramadi, a hotbed of Sunni-Arab insurgents west of Baghdad, killing an estimated 70 militants, the military said Monday. But witnesses said at least 39 were civilians. The violence on Sunday occurred a day after Iraq voted on - and apparently passed - a landmark constitution that many Sunnis opposed. On referendum day, a roadside bomb killed five US soldiers in a vehicle in the Al-Bu Ubaid village on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi.