US air strikes killed an estimated 40 insurgents in western Iraq near the Syrian border on Saturday, the military said in a statement.

"The seven precision-guided air strikes began at 11:40 a.m.(0740 GMT), and are estimated to have killed approximately 40 insurgents.There have been no Marine casualties," the statement said.

Insurgents had set up a barricade on a main road to Karabilah and were threatening Iraqi civilians, it said.

US warplanes and helicopters launched the air strikes that lasted for more than four hours before "all the targets were destroyed," it said.

It said there were no reports of civilian casualties or collateral damage.

Source: Xinhua