US and Iraqi forces have killed 80 alleged militants in a battle near Tikrit.
The battle, which lasted 12 hours, happened yesterday during a raid on a terrorist camp at Lake Tharthar and also left seven Iraqi troops dead and four more injured.
US military officials claimed 20 militants had been captured.
Iraqi insurgents have suffered a series of blows this week, including 26
deaths during a clash with American soldiers on Sunday.
The specialist commando unit attacked the militant camp, near Lake Tarthar about 160 km northwest of Baghdad, on Tuesday morning. After encountering heavy rebel fire, the commandos called for US air and ground reinforcements.
"An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training anti-Iraqi forces," said Major Richard Goldenberg, spokesman for the US 42nd Infantry Division, using the US military's term for insurgents.
"Documentation at the facility indicates that some members of the AIF were foreign fighters," he said.
Notices posted on the Internet by the Islamic Party of Tikrit, a local insurgent operation, said 11 militants had been killed, while they had killed "many more" police commandos.
Specialist Iraqi police units, frequently backed by US troops, have been stepping up operations against insurgents in recent weeks. In an incident earlier this week, US troops killed 26 insurgents after an ambush south of Baghdad.