U.S. military officials in Iraq say American and Iraqi forces have launched operations against insurgents in the northern city of Mosul.
A spokeswoman Capt. Angela Bowman told reporters in Iraq's third largest city that forces are moving in Tuesday to secure police stations hit hard by insurgents in recent days.
The most intense fighting in Iraq has been shifting from Fallujah to Mosul and other areas. On Monday, U.S. Marine officials said coalition forces were now able to move throughout Fallujah after a week of heavy battles to oust entrenched militants, but were still finding pockets of resistance.
Elsewhere, officials say insurgents killed an American soldier in centraql Iraq, near Balad.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.