FALLUJA, March 26: Nine civilians, including a television cameraman and three children, were killed on Friday as US troops fought running battles with guerillas in the Iraqi town of Falluja.

And in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's native town, four Iraqi paramilitaries and three armed suspects were killed during a raid by the US Army. Several explosions, apparently from mortar bombs fired by guerillas, echoed all day through Falluja's streets, which were deserted apart from ambulances and US military vehicles.

A mosque loudspeaker broadcast the call to Friday prayers, but residents had to stay in their homes. Residents said US troops had come under attack when they entered the town's Hay al Askari neighbourhood. They sealed off the area and conducted house-to-house searches. Soldiers carried out a similar operation in the Hay al Shuhada district.

US troops turned back reporters trying to reach the town, where explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard from the outskirts. Falluja, 60kms west of Baghdad, is known for its fierce hostility to the occupation forces.

TIKRIT RAID: A US military spokeswoman said four members of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) were wounded in the Tikrit incident.

She said 21 individuals were captured in the raid. US troops and Iraqi security forces regularly raid homes and villages from their base in Tikrit.

CAMERAMAN: The cameraman killed in Falluja was working with US television network ABC. "Sadly, today we learned of the death of our colleague, Burhan Mohammed Mazhour," ABC News President David Westin said.-Reuters