Heavy clashes on in Ramadi and Falluja

The US Military said it had begun to increase its troop strength in Iraq ahead of nationwide elections due in January. ‘‘The Second Brigade Combat Team has been informed that its departure has been delayed for 30 to 60 days to provide a secure environment for this election,’’ a military spokesman said.

Three people were killed in the Ramadi fighting, including an Iraqi cameraman working for Reuters, apparently killed by a sniper after fierce clashes had died down. Dhia Najim was near his house in the Sunni Muslim city’s Andalus district when he was shot by a sniper.

US forces hit the eastern part of the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja with on-off artillery barrages through the day and air strikes in the evening, but there were no reports of casualties.

Gunmen assassinated the deputy governor of Baghdad, Hatem Karim and wounded two of his bodyguards in a drive-by shooting in the southern Dora district of the capital. The Islamic militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement on its website.

Gunmen killed retired Republican Guard Lieutenant-Colonel Athir al-Khazraji and a passerby in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. A morgue official there said he had also received the body of an Iraqi contractor working for US forces.

Clashes in Ramadi broke out at around 7 a.m. Black smoke rose from buildings as gunmen and US forces exchanged heavy fire. —Reuters