Baghdad, February 27 - It has been a day of scattered violence in Iraq, with at least 10 people reported killed in incidents, mainly in Sunni areas west and north of Baghdad.

Reports said three died in a gun battle in Ramadi, as US and Iraqi forces try to clear insurgents from key areas in the so-called Sunni Triangle.

People in Ramadi said there was a prolonged exchange of fire.

The violence came as talks continued in Baghdad over forming a new government following last month's elections.

Ramadi is a largely Sunni town about 70km (45 miles) west of Baghdad and one of the insurgents' most stubborn strongholds.

Iraqi policemen, and others regarded by the militants as collaborators, have in recent months been shot dead or beheaded in public in broad daylight in the town streets.

Now it is one of the focal points in a week-old campaign by the Americans and Iraqi government troops to get a grip on the town and its province, Unbar, where just 2% of the population voted in last month's elections.

The Americans and their allies have also been raiding suspected insurgent hideouts further up the Euphrates valley, towards the Syrian border.

They are hoping to catch Iraq's most wanted man, the militant Islamist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Iraqi officials believe they are close to capturing him, but such predictions in the past have proven premature.

Other areas have not been spared the violence. In western Baghdad, a car bomb apparently missed a US patrol and damaged three civilian vehicles, killing two people.

And police sources told the BBC that four merchants who were selling material for Iraqi National Guard uniforms were singled out and shot dead.