SAMARRA, Oct 1: The US-led forces stormed Samarra on Friday and claimed more than 100 guerillas were killed in air strikes and street-to-street combat during a major offensive to wrest control of the Iraqi town.

Samarra's hospital said dozens of bodies were brought in, including at least 11 women, five children and seven old men. Staff could cope with no more wounded and bodies lay in the streets. Clashes stopped some wounded from reaching hospital.

A spokesman for the US Army said 109 fighters and a US soldier were killed in the offensive launched just after midnight. Four soldiers were wounded. Towards dusk, US jets struck again as sporadic shooting continued.

Thousands of people were fleeing the historic town, 100kms north of Baghdad. Water and electricity were cut off. Kassim Daoud, national security adviser in the Iraqi government, claimed 37 guerillas were captured in the operation.

The US military said Iraqi commandos had taken over Samarra's Golden Mosque and seized 25 guerillas inside. Iraqi troops had also secured the town's renowned spiral minaret, the statement added.

Baghdad's interior ministry said that by midday Iraqi police had control of the centre of Samarra, home to over 100,000 people, and most surrounding areas. The operation was to "remove the terrorists who have been holding the town hostage".

The US military says it will retake guerilla strongholds such as Samarra, the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi and the Baghdad districts of Sadr City and Haifa Street by the end of the year so elections can go ahead in January as planned.

Mr Daoud said fresh offensives would begin soon. Troops backed by tanks had pushed through Samarra's streets in darkness as guerillas unleashed mortar attacks and fired rocket-propelled grenades and rifles from rooftops.

The assault began shortly after midnight with air strikes and artillery barrages pounding the mainly Sunni town, which had been a no-go zone for US forces for months.

Overnight, guerillas were seen unloading weapons and ammunition from two speedboats on the Tigris River in the town, the military said. Troops opened fire and destroyed the boats.

"In response to repeated and unprovoked attacks by anti-Iraqi forces, Iraqi security forces and multinational forces secured the government and police buildings in Samarra early in the morning of Oct 1," the military said.

US officials use the phrase "anti-Iraqi forces" to describe the various armed groups fighting the Washington-backed government. A US helicopter took small arms fire during the operation but made a safe landing, the military said.

An Internet statement claimed responsibility in the name of the Tawhid and Jihad group of Jordanian Abu Musab al Zarqawi, which beheaded two American hostages last week. The group is also threatening to kill a third captive, Briton Kenneth Bigley.

Clashes also erupted again in Baghdad's Sadr City, and doctors said eight Iraqis were killed in fighting there. A Turkish worker kidnapped by guerrillas was rescued during the Samarra offensive, the US military said. -Reuters