US and Iraqi troops backed by aircraft killed Wednesday 30 insurgents and detained 12 suspects during a raid on militants in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, the US military said.

The raid started overnight targeted "members of a cell of a Special Groups terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training," the military said in a statement.

During the operation, the attacking troops and US helicopters observed a vehicle and a large group of armed men on foot in an attempt to launch an assault on the ground forces, the military said.

"Responding appropriately to the threat of the organized terrorist force, close air support was called and engaged the terrorist vehicle and organized terrorist force, killing an estimated 30 terrorists," the statement said.

Intelligence reports indicate that the targeted individuals act as proxies between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and the Iraqi EFP network, it added.

A source from Sadr office in the Shiite neighborhood said that the US troops attacked the house of Amer al-Husseini, head of social commission at Sadr office, and detained him along with two of his brothers after surrounding the area.

Sporadic clashes erupted in the neighborhood between Mahdi Army militiamen and the US troops while helicopters were seen flying over the area during the raid, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The US choppers dropped bombs on the area, killing and wounding several people, including women and children, in addition to damaging two houses and several civilian cars, the source added, running contrary to the US military statement which said the killed are terrorists.

The US has been accusing Iran of backing Shiite militias in Iraq, an allegation flatly denied by the Islamic Republic.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2007)