He said the people were killed when missiles hit eight houses in Basra, a predominately Shi'ite Muslim city of 1.5 million.

The US-led coalition said today it had bombed the Basra residence of Saddam Hussein's cousin and top aide, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his ruthless campaign against the Kurds in 1988.

Two coalition aircraft struck the building with "laser-guided munitions", US Central Command said in a statement.

Basra has been surrounded for nearly two weeks by British troops, who are steadily picking away at loyalist forces inside the city.

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