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The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed Sunday in the northern city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks.


Residents said the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead were mostly civilians. But by the American account, the battle was the bloodiest combat reported since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led invasion.


On Monday, assailants ambushed a U.S. military convoy with small arms fire about 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing one soldier, the U.S. military said.


The U.S. military said attackers in Samarra, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's Fedayeen paramilitary force, struck at two U.S. convoys at opposite sides of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.


Capt. Andy Deponai, whose tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said the guerrillas had deployed about 30-40 men near each of the two banks where the new currency was being delivered.


"It was a large group of people," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. "Are we looking at this one closely? Yes. Is this something larger than we've seen over the past couple of months? Yes. Are we concerned about it? We'll look at it and take appropriate measures in future operations."


Deponai said he was surprised by the scale of the attack.


"Up to now you've seen a progression — initially it was hit and run, single RPG shots on patrols, then they started doing volley fire, multiple RPG ambushes, and then from there this is the first well-coordinated one," he said.


"Here, it seems they had the training to stand and fight," Deponai said.


The scars of the battle were evident Monday. About a dozen cars lay destroyed in the streets, many apparently crushed by tanks, and bullet holes pocked many buildings. A rowdy crowd gathered at one spot, chanting pro-Saddam slogans. One man fired warning shots in the air wh...