US forces in Iraq killed 15 unarmed civilians yesterday — including nine children — in a series of airstrikes on suspected insurgents, one of the heaviest civilian death tolls from American operations in recent months.

The US military said that it had been targeting senior al-Qaeda leaders north of Baghdad during the operation, which killed 19 insurgents and also left six women dead.

“We regret that civilians are hurt or killed while coalition forces search to rid Iraq of terrorism,” said Major Brad Leighton, a spokesman for US forces in Iraq. “These terrorists chose to deliberately place innocent Iraqi women and children in danger by their actions and presence.”

Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, has confronted General David Petraeus, the US commander, in recent meetings over what he regards as overly aggressive US tactics that harm innocent civilians. Those criticisms have focused more on civilian contractors such as Blackwater, the US security company that is embroiled in controversy over the shooting of 17 civilians last month. But yesterday’s airstrikes will increase tensions between Mr al-Maliki’s Government and US military commanders.

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The American statement detailing the attack said that soldiers were acting on intelligence reports about an al-Qaeda meeting in the Lake Tharthar region. The southern reaches of the large artificial lake are about 85km (50 miles) northwest of the capital. The American account said that the first air attack killed four terrorists. The military said that it then tracked some of those who escaped the initial strike to a place south of the lake and that ground forces moved in on the site and came under fire. Air support was called in.

“After securing the area, the ground force assessed 15 terrorists, six women and nine children were killed,” the statement said. Two suspected al-Qaeda members, a woman and three children were wounded.

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