mkinitrd reports error "File format not recognized" from /usr/bin/strip

Issue

• When trying to build an initrd.img for the kernel ,getting the below error:

# mkinitrd -v -f initrd $(uname -r)
...
/usr/bin/strip: /lib/modules/2.6.18-274.el5/kernel/drivers/usb/host/uhci-hcd.ko: File format not recognized
/usr/bin/strip: /lib/modules/2.6.18-274.el5/kernel/fs/jbd/jbd.ko: File format not recognized
/usr/bin/strip: /lib/modules/2.6.18-274.el5/kernel/fs/ext3/ext3.ko: File format not recognized
...