The Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, has said the US led assault on the city of Fallujah is nearing completion. He said he expected the operation to end in the coming days.
The US military has said only pockets of resistance remain and it now controls 80% of the city.
Earlier, its forces fired 20 mortar bombs at rebel targets in the northwest of Fallujah.
The Iraqi interim government is claiming that more than 1,000 rebels have been killed and up to 200 others have been detained.
An American officer has been quoted as saying that US forces will take control of a remaining guerrilla stronghold within 72 hours.
He said foreign fighters, including Syrians and Chechens, were continuing to resist. There are no reliable estimates of civilian casualties.
Islamist groups, including one led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, vowed in a video to take their battle in Fallujah to all corners of Iraq.
Meanwhile, aid agencies have been trying to get vital supplies into Fallujah.
They say they are concerned for the thousands of civilians who are trapped inside the city without food, water or medical supplies.
Earlier, US forces held up a Red Crescent convoy trying to reach civilians trapped inside the city. A US Marine sergeant said the road was full of explosives. The convoy was eventually allowed through once it was made safe.
The Red Crescent has warned of a humanitarian disaster in the city. It said civilians were running out of food, doctors were reporting cases of typhoid and the city has been without power or water for days.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has sent extra troops to the northern city of Mosul to quell the violence that has flared there in recent days.
