Thirteen Iraqis were killed and more than dozen others wounded in overnight clashes between US troops and insurgents in the flashpoint city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite channel reported Friday.

Police and medical sources confirmed the toll, saying they received parts of human body belong to more than one person, without indicating if the casualties were civilians or fighters.

Earlier some media reports said that at least nine Iraqis were killed and 16 others injured in the fierce clashes between US forces and gunmen overnight in Fallujah.

The US military Friday confirmed the overnight airstrike against insurgent positions in Fallujah.

A US military statement said the Marines first responded with tanks and artillery fire to an attack on their position launched by number of insurgents, adding that there were "no marine casualties and no information about any insurgent losses."

Artillery fire backed by air support targeted insurgents who had fled into buildings in the east part of the city after they attacked a Marines' position with mortars, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire, the statement said.

Local residents said earlier that US military aircraft launched late Thursday an airstrike on a southern neighborhood of Fallujah.

"It was an air strike on a house and I heard a very powerful explosion around 10:30 pm (1830 GMT) coming from the Shuhada neighborhood in Fallujah," said a resident.

US forces have targeted buildings in Fallujah over the past few months, saying the houses were being used by militants linked to al-Qaida ally, Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

In April, US troops had to withdraw from Fallujah after fierce clashes that killed hundreds of Iraqis.

Source: Xinhua