BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. jets launched airstrikes today near the Syrian border, destroying three houses and killing a "known terrorist," the U.S. military said. Iraqi authorities said fighting had broken out in the area between a tribe that supports foreign fighters and another that backs the government.

Elsewhere, an Arab League official in Cairo said Arab diplomats were urging the Iraqis to amend their draft constitution to strengthen references to the country's role in the Arab world.

Iraqi Sunni Arabs cited the phrase among reasons they rejected the draft. Although the law forbids further changes in the draft, the stakes are so high that Iraqis may overlook legalisms in a bid for unity.

The airstrikes began about 6:20 a.m. in a cluster of towns near Qaim along the Syrian border 200 miles northwest of Baghdad.

A U.S. statement made no mention of tribal fighting but said four bombs were used to destroy a house occupied by "terrorists" outside the town of Husaybah. Two more bombs destroyed a second house in Husaybah, occupied by Abu Islam, described as "a known terrorist," the statement added.

"Islam and several other suspected terrorists were killed in that attack," the statement said. Several of Islam's associates fled his house in Husaybah for the nearby town of Karabilah, the statement said, citing intelligence reports.

"Around 8:30 a.m., a strike was conducted on the house in Karabilah using two precision-guided bombs," the statement said. "Several terrorists were killed in the strike but exact numbers are not known."

Iraqi officials said at least 35 people had been killed in the fighting between the pro-government Bumahl tribe and the pro-insurgent Karabilah tribe. It was unclear whether that figure included people who died in the airstrikes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The area is among the most dangerous in the country, and access is difficult.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military said an Army helicopter made a forced landing late Monday under hostile fire near the northern city of Tal Afar, and one soldier was killed and another injured.

The outcome of the border clashes could affect the ease with which foreign fighters can slip into the country from Syria. Tensions have been rising over the presence of foreign fighters linked to al-Qaida, and fighting has flared in the area sporadically for months, U.S. officials have said.

The reports of new fighting in the border area came as leaders of Iraq's Sunni Arab community pondered their next move after failing to block parliament from signing off on the country's new constitution.

The charter now goes to the voters. Sunni Arab clerics have been urging their followers to turn out for the Oct. 15 referendum, avoiding the mistake that the community made in January when many members boycotted the ballot, handing control of parliament to the Shiites and Kurds.

One of the Sunni objections to the draft was that it identified Iraq as an "Islamic" but not Arab country - a concession to the non-Arab Kurds. But many Sunnis felt the change threatened the nation's ties to the Arab world and lumped Iraqis together with non-Arab, Shiite-dominated Iran.