Two US soldiers die in helicopter collision

Earlier Saturday, five Baghdad churches were hit by bomb blasts, and the US military said four more American troops and a translator were killed in attacks elsewhere in Iraq.

A spokesman in the hospital in Fallujah west of Baghdad said, "We have received three dead."

The latest US raids targeted the districts of Jolan and Askari. Fallujah has been sealed off by US and Iraqi troops since Thursday.

The US army in a statement confirmed a raid "against an armed al-Zarqawi terrorist checkpoint in the Jolan district of the city of Fallujah" around 10:45 pm (1940 GMT), referring to Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most-wanted man.

"The terrorists operating this illegal checkpoint were heavily armed and were using the blockade to disrupt traffic, intimidate and harass local citizens, and interrogate and detain local civilians," the statement added.

The army said the cause of the helicopter collision was under investigation and that the names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of family.

Elsewhere, a statement attributed to Zarqawi's group claimed it had beheaded 11 members of the Iraqi police and national guard.

Desperate to crush the rebellion ahead of nationwide elections planned for January, more than 1,000 US and Iraqi troops surrounded the city of Fallujah for a second straight day in the hunt for Zarqawi.

In Karbala nine Iraqi policemen were killed when their minibus came under attack in the rebel area of Latifiyah south of Baghdad on Saturday, police said.

Funerals were held for the nine on Sunday in their hometown, the holy Shia city of Karbala, a police official said.