Groups of insurgents patrolled streets in some districts of Mosul this evening, but US and Iraqi forces bolstered their presence to try to wrest back full control of Iraq's third largest city.
Residents said armed men, some with scarves over their faces, were roaming areas to the west and south, where three days of violent unrest has been concentrated.
"Insurgents are doing patrols to protect banks and shops from looters. They are guarding hospitals, schools and fire stations," said one resident, who gave his name only as Thamer.
The US military said while it was not present everywhere, there were no areas it considered "no go" and control was gradually being restored. It played down suggestions that insurgents forced out of Falluja, west of Baghdad, by a U.S.-led offensive had set up a new base in Mosul.
A US military spokeswoman said she could not confirm reports that a battalion of US troops had been redeployed from Falluja back to Mosul to help regain security.
Previously there had been virtually no evidence of US or Iraqi security forces on the streets, but residents said that changed today, with units now positioned at the ends of some of the five bridges that span the Tigris in Mosul.
Patrols were moving through northern and central districts but residents said the city remained tense.