One US soldier and over 90 militants were killed and some 180 - wounded in air strikes and street-to-street combat during a major American offensive in the Iraqi town Samarra, 125 km North of Baghdad. The offensive began shortly after midnight with air strikes and artillery barrages pounding a district which had been a no-go zone for U.S. forces for months. The fighting continued till early afternoon in Samarra. A spokesman for the U.S. 1st Infantry Division said Iraqi commandos had taken over Samarra's Golden Mosque and seized 25 rebels inside. Iraqi troops also secured the town's renowned spiral minaret. A Turkish worker kidnapped by guerrillas had been rescued during the Samarra offensive, the U.S. military said.

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