US aircraft struck a house near the Iraqi border with Syria before dawn on Monday, killing 40 people and wounding 15 others, said reports reaching here from the border region.

"There were 40 people killed and some 15 others wounded in the air strike that destroyed four houses in al-Baidha village. Rescuers are still trying to remove bodies from the rubble," a hospital source in the nearby town of Ubaidi was quoted as saying.

Most of the victims were women and children, added the source.

The US military confirmed the attack, but said that its aircraft used precision-guided munitions to avoid civilian casualties in its attack on an al-Qaida leader safe house close to al-Qaim town near the Syrian border.

Al-Qaim town and the villages nearby has been a scene of battles between insurgents and US forces.

Source: Xinhua