Several Iraqi guards killed

Four guardsmen were killed when their patrol was targeted by an explosive in the Abu Ghraib neigbourhood west of Baghdad, Aljazeera said.

Two guardsmen and a civilian were also killed in battles with armed groups in Samarra north of Baghdad.

A US military vehicle, part of a US patrol, was damaged in the Samilat district in Abu Ghraib when an explosive device was detonated by fighters on Friday, Aljazeera said.

It also learned that a house used as a base by US troops in the Zaidan District in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, came under heavy mortar fire. Eyewitnesses said a number of US soldiers were hit in the attack.