Four people, including a woman and a child, have been killed in an operation against al-Qaida (web|news) near the northern Iraq (web|news) i city of Mosul, the U.S. military said Sunday.The military says the woman and child were riding in a vehicle targeted south of Mosul. It says two armed men were also killed.

In Sunday's statement, the military regretted killing "civilians" in the operation Saturday against what was described as associates of foreign al-Qaida fighters.

Iraq's security forces on Saturday launched a new operation against al-Qaida in Mosul. Mosul was considered the last important urban staging ground for al-Qaida in Iraq after losing its strongholds in Baghdad and other areas during the U.S. troop "surge" last year.

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