The death toll rose to 28 and more than 70 were wounded in heavy clashes between the US-Iraqi forces and insurgents in Iraq's northern town of Tall Afar, medical sources said on Thursday.

According to a senior health official in Mosul, 28 people were killed in the air strikes and more than 70 wounded.

Ambulances were finally allowed to enter the besieged town to retrieve bodies scattered in the streets, the official said.

The hours-long fighting was brought to a halt shortly after 3:00 pm (1100 GMT) as a result of negotiations between tribal leaders from the town of Tall Afar and officials in the nearby city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad.

"We are still negotiating but a ceasefire deal is agreed upon, which is effective this afternoon," said Ibrahim Arafat, deputy governor of Nineveh province and the government's mediator with insurgents.

The clashes erupted at 2:00 a.m. Thursday (2200 GMT Wednesday) and continued for several hours as US and Iraqi forces launched a fresh offensive against the town, in a bid to force the insurgents out of the area, witnesses said.

"Multi-National Forces and Iraqi security forces initiated operations to restore control of Tall Afar to legitimate Iraqi government officials," the US military said in a statement.

Tall Afar, some 390 km north of Baghdad, has witnessed fierce fighting between coalition forces and insurgents during the past few days.

On Sept. 4, clashes between US forces and insurgents erupted in Tall Afar as US tanks rushed into the town, intending to conduct searches in the area.

Source: Xinhua