Iraqi police and insurgents exchanged rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire in the streets of Mosul today and at least 12 civilians were killed, police and hospital officials said.
"The police are shooting everywhere and there are RPGs being fired back," said a witness in the city. "The fighting seems to be going on around a highway bridge and is very fierce. There have been five or six loud explosions."
The witness said one firefight began at about 12.45 p.m. (9.45 a.m. Irish time) in the Sinjar neighbourhood to the southwest of Mosul, Iraq's third largest city. Other battles raged to the north, in the centre and to the south of the city, he said.
"I can hear gunfire and RPGs in the Yarmook area to the northwest, in the city centre and in al-Razlani to the south," he said.
Police tried to seal off the Sinjar area and were fighting guerrillas street-to-street near the highway.
Local television said a curfew had been imposed in the city from 3 p.m. (midday Irish time).
US troops were not believed to be involved in the clashes. The crack of small arms and assault rifles could be heard in the background, and at least two loud blasts sounded, possibly the noise of rocket-propelled grenades striking their target.
Mosul has seen frequent outbreaks of violence over the past year, most recently a car bomb attack outside a police station in the city centre last week that killed five people.
There have also been regular attacks on US troops stationed in and near the city, and occasional drive-by shootings in which Iraqi officials and US soldiers at checkpoints have been targeted.