US troops killed 27 Iraqis who ambushed a tank patrol yesterday, after killing at least 70 at a guerrilla camp the day before, in the bloodiest clashes since US President George W Bush declared major combat over.

US forces were fighting for a fourth day today in Iraq as they tried to stamp out resistance by supporters of Saddam Hussein’s former regime.

IRAQI forces shot down a US helicopter gunship in western Iraq yesterday, just hours after US fighter jets bombed what they said was “a terrorist training camp” in central Iraq.