Iraq welcomes US strike on jihadist target near Baghdad

The first strike south of Baghdad in a more than month-long US air campaign hit a jihadist target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the capital, a security spokesman said Tuesday.

The US "carried out an important strike against an enemy target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah," southwest of Baghdad, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta told AFP.

Sadr al-Yusufiyah lies in the Euphrates Valley, between the militant stronghold of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and the key battleground of Jurf al-Sakhr, further south.