Earlier Saturday, Iraqi police say a U.S. warplane hit a house and killed eight civilians. The U.S. military has made no comment on the report and it has not been possible to independently verify it.
The British military -- which the BBC reports has joined the fighting in Basra -- says it is also looking into the reports of civilian casualties.
American forces launched their first airstrikes in Basra yesterday as Iraqi troops continued to struggle against strong resistance from militant followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
