At least 80 people have been killed and over 100 wounded as US and Iraqi forces pounded Samarra, seizing the city hall and police stations, medics and the military said. The early Friday morning attack amounted to the first major effort by US and Iraqi forces to reclaim parts of Iraq ahead of nationwide parliamentary elections scheduled for January. US troops and one battalion each from the Iraqi army and national guard stormed the city before dawn on Friday after a previous arrangement signed on 9 September for US forces to enter the town and patrol peacefully fell apart one week ago. At least 80 bodies and more than 100 wounded were brought to Samarra General Hospital, said Dr Khalid Ahmad. The hospital was running out bandages, oxygen and other supplies, he added. Residents cowered in their homes as tanks and warplanes pounded the city overnight. The sound of loud shelling mixed with the crackle of automatic gunfire continued into the morning. **Houses flattened*** At least three houses were flattened and dozens of cars charred, residents said. "We are terrified by the violent approach used by the Americans to subdue the city," said Mahmud Salah, a 33-year-old civil servant. "My wife and children are scared to death and they have not being able to sleep since last night. I hope that the fighting ends as soon as possible." Military officials said two US soldiers were injured. Water and electricity services were cut off, and troops ordered residents to stay off the streets as they moved from house to house in search of insurgents. A 7 pm to 7 am curfew was announced through loud-hailers. Explosions started to shake the city at 9 pm (1800 GMT) on Thursday, residents said. **Clashed continued*** Within hours, US troops marched into the heart of the city, with armoured vehicles rumbling down the street and helicopter gunships roaring overhead. This was followed by clashes that continued throughout the early morning. The governor of Salahuddin province, where Samarra is located, had warned on Thursday that new fighting risked plunging surrounding towns and cities into violence. "I have ... warned the Americans if there is any violence in Balad and Duluiya it is because of what is happening in Samarra," said Governor Hamid Hamud al-Qaissy, referring to nearby towns. Qaissy had earlier said that local Iraqi officials were close to brokering a deal with local leaders to allow Americans to return to Samarra. **Too late*** "An agreement will be announced soon ... A previous signed plan with the coalition will be ready to work again, and I will tell you as soon as its finished," Qaissy said. But the US attacked before any new deal could be reached. The Americans moved with the backing of the Iraqi interim government, whose deputy prime minister, Barham Salah, announced the intention to seize back cities and towns before November. Peaceful efforts to end the standoff between Iraqis and US forces in Samarra unravelled on 23 September when US troops sealed off the city, including a crucial bridge over the River Tigris. The blockading of the city shattered a peace agreement reached between the sides that allowed US forces to return to the city on 9 September after a three-month absence from Samarra. The failed peace deal had been viewed as taking Samarra away from the brink of a major US assault to reclaim it from anti-US Iraqi fighters who had turned the city into a no-go zone for the Americans. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Iraqis look at a destroyed house following an overnight US air strike on the city of Samarra. (AFP)