A ceasefire between US forces and Iraqi insurgents in the town of Fallujah appears to be holding, despite sporadic clashes.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Baghdad has confirmed that seven Chinese hostages captured in Iraq have been released.
The workers entered Iraq from Jordan on Sunday and were abducted in Fallujah.
An unknown number of hostages are still being held in Iraq. They include three Japanese civilians who it is believed are still in the hands of guerrillas who have threatened to kill them if Japanese forces are not withdrawn from Iraq.
In a separate development, it is reported that 11 Russian workers have been kidnapped in Baghdad and two Czech television journalists are missing.
Casualty figures grow
US statements today acknowledged six further troop casualties over the weekend.
A soldier from the 1st Infantry Division was killed when his tank was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade on Friday near Tikrit, while on Saturday another died and a third was injured in an ambush near the same town.
Three Marines were killed in fighting west of Baghdad yesterday, and a 1st Armoured Division soldier died of injuries received earlier there.
Almost 800 soldiers and rebels have been killed in clashes in Iraq this month, according to a spokesman for the occupying forces.
Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt said 70 troops and 700 Iraqi insurgents had died in what is described as the most intense period of fighting since the official end of the war last May.
He said there were no reliable figures for civilian casualties.
Chalabi demands June deadline met
The acting president of Iraq's Governing Council, Ahmed Chalabi, has said the planned handover of power by the US-led administration must go ahead at the end of June, despite the upsurge in fighting and kidnappings.
He insisted that the Iraqi people were better off now than they had been under Saddam Hussein.
However, he said they were concerned about what role the coalition forces were currently playing.
