U.S. and Iraqi forces tightened their grip on Samarra Saturday, pressing on with one of the largest offensives since the fall of Saddam Hussein to try to regain control of the rebel stronghold.
A doctor at a hospital in the town, about 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris, said five more bodies had been brought in overnight, and 20 people were treated for wounds. It was not clear if they were civilians or fighters.
More than 80 bodies were brought in Friday. Others were left in the streets, health workers too busy to collect them.
Residents said U.S. aircraft bombarded parts of the city overnight, and tanks patrolled the town more than 24 hours after the offensive, led by around 5,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, was launched with artillery and air strikes. The town had been a virtual no-go zone for the U.S. military for months.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed by U.S. forces. Residents said U.S. snipers were positioned on high buildings, making locals too scared to venture outdoors, although thousands tried to flee Friday. Electricity and water supplies were cut off.
The U.S. military said in a statement Saturday that Iraqi National Guards had "secured" Samarra's hospital and a team of 70 Iraqi volunteers had arrived from Tikrit, 75 km (45 miles) to the north, to help deal with the scores of wounded.
The U.S. military has pledged to wrest all rebel-held areas from insurgents before the end of the year so elections can be held in January. Iraq's Defense minister said the offensive would begin in October and Samarra appears to be the first step.
In operations Friday, U.S.-led forces said they killed more than 100 guerrillas in air strikes and street-to-street combat, while around 35 insurgents were captured, 25 of them inside the Golden Mosque, a revered ancient Shi'ite shrine.
Iraqi forces stormed the mosque to offset any local anger at the presence of U.S. troops on holy ground. The seizure of the shrine was a tactical strike to try to prevent insurgents holing up there as they did in Najaf for weeks.
As well as Samarra, a town of about 100,000, the cities of Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, will also have to be taken, as will several areas of Baghdad, including militant Sadr City