Fighting is continuing in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar as American and Iraqi troops press on with an all-out offensive to wrest control of the area from rebels.
The US military said it expected to wrap up the operation within days.
The Tal Afar offensive is the largest against insurgents since the
US-led onslaught on the restive town of Fallujah last November.
Iraq's Red Crescent said up to 7,000 families were fleeing the fighting in the town, believed to be a major staging post for foreign fighters.
Meanwhile, a British soldier has been killed and three others injured in an attack in Iraq's Basra province, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
A spokesman in Basra, southern Iraq, told reporters that the casualties were being treated at Britain's Shaibah base.
