The US military is claiming that as many as 109 insurgents have been killed in a push by US and Iraqi troops into Samarra city, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
One US soldier was killed and four others were also hurt in the offensive, which involved air strikes and street-to-street combat, the US military said.
Hospital sources in the city said that 47 bodies had been brought in, and that 11 women, five children and seven elderly men were among the dead.
The US-led forces are trying to retake control of Samarra from insurgents.
