BAGHDAD, Nov 1: US forces battled militants in Ramadi and pounded Fallujah on Monday, but there was no sign that an all-out offensive to retake the militant-held cities had begun on the eve of the US election.

In Baghdad, kidnappers armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades seized an American, a Nepali, two Arabs and two of unidentifed nationality from their Saudi company's office, the interior ministry said.

A spokesman said the attackers killed a guard when they stormed the company villa in the affluent Mansour district.

The US military said it had begun to increase its troop strength in Iraq in the build-up to nationwide elections due in January.

"The Second Brigade Combat Team has been informed that its departure has been delayed for 30 to 60 days to provide a secure environment for this election," a military spokesman said.

While the First Cavalry's Second Brigade will stay longer than planned, new troops have begun arriving, he said. The United States already has about 138,000 troops in Iraq.

The Ramadi clashes broke out in the east of the city early in the morning. Black smoke rose from buildings as militants fired grenades and mortar rounds amid heavy US return fire.

Families began to flee their homes as fighting intensified and witnesses said they saw a US military vehicle ablaze.

Three people were killed in the clashes, including an Iraqi cameraman working for Reuters, apparently killed by a sniper after fierce clashes had died down.

Dhia Najim was near his house in the city's Andalus district when he was shot in the back of the neck. A video taken from a nearby building shows him appearing from behind a wall when a single shot cracks out and he falls dead.

Footage he took earlier shows US Humvees racing across a junction and flashes from gunfire and explosions, but there was no sound of fighting on the tape recording his death.-Reuters