Iraqi forces' air strikes leave 19 dead in Fallujah

Iraqi government air strikes have killed 19 people, including children, in militant-held Fallujah.

The Iraqi army has been shelling Fallujah, 70km west of Baghdad, for months in a bid to drive out the Sunni militants from the group known as Islamic State.

The insurgents, backed by local Sunni tribal leaders, overran the city in January.

Ahmed al-Shami, a spokesman for the Fallujah health office, said the 19 dead on Monday and Tuesday included women and children, with 38 wounded taken to Fallujah hospital.

Residents of Fallujah and the nearby town of Garma said helicopters fired artillery and dropped three barrel bombs on Fallujah and two on Garma.

Barrel bombs are powerful weapons made from high explosives, cement and metal parts packed into oil drums and usually dropped from helicopters.