MOSUL, Nov 13: Guerillas were in charge of areas of southern and western Mosul on Saturday, holding police stations and manning road blocks, suggesting Iraq's third largest city is slipping out of US and Iraqi control.

Residents in neighbourhoods throughout the city on the Tigris river, 400kms north of Baghdad, said there was no visible presence of Iraqi security forces or US troops and said armed men held some areas.

"In the south and the west of the city, insurgents are doing patrols to protect banks and shops from looters. They are guarding hospitals, schools and fire stations," said one resident, who would give only his first name, Thamer.

"There are no police or National Guards anywhere. The insurgents are in charge of security (in those areas)."

In districts where militants do not have a strong presence, citizens have set up their own security watches, establishing roadblocks and overnight patrols to deter thieves and looters.

None of the residents interviewed would give their full names, saying they feared for their lives. They described the atmosphere in the city as tense and in flux.

The US military has denied the city is out of Iraqi or US control and said on Saturday the situation was calmer, with only sporadic fighting in some areas. It said three of five bridges over the Tigris had been reopened.

"There is no widespread fighting," a spokeswoman said.

Mosul tipped into chaos on Wednesday and Thursday, when armed men attacked at least nine police stations-Reuters