Gunmen attacked and briefly occupied city hall in a town north of Baghdad early Saturday before being hit by U.S. and Iraqi forces in a firefight that left several attackers dead and one policeman injured, officials said.
The incident in Al Khalis on Saturday involved about 100 attackers who raided the city hall and two police stations, said municipal official Saad Ahmed Abbas.
According to him, U.S. occupation soldiers and Iraqi security forces regained control after a two-hour exchange of fire.
Also on Saturday, a U.S. soldier was killed when a roadside bomb went off near a patrol north of Baghdad, the military said, according to The AP. The attack on the patrol took place near Duluiyah.
Also, a U.S. military vehicle was damaged in an explosion on the highway near Baghdad International Airport, witnesses said.
Meanwhile, an official in the Iraqi Communist party was assassinated northeast of Baghdad, a party spokesman said Saturday. Munir Jabar was returning home late Friday when gunmen opened fire on him in the town of Buhriz, northeast of Baghdad.
