Clashes erupted yesterday between Iraqi forces and insurgents in Fallujah while a friendly fire incident near the Syrian border between Iraqi police and army left five dead. "There are clashes between the army and police and insurgents, but we don't have a toll yet," the Defense Ministry official said. An AFP reporter said shots were heard from the city's northwestern Jolan district and Iraqi police sealed off the district around 1:30 p.m. At the Jolan district's medical center, hospital clerk Abbas Ahmed said four dead Iraqi soldiers were brought to the facility, but the Defense Ministry could not confirm the toll.US forces assaulted the city in November, driving out insurgents who had turned it into their nerve centre for attacks across Iraq. In a tragic friendly fire incident, Iraqi police and army opened fire on one another in Rabia, 130 kilometers northwest of Mosul, leaving three soldiers and two police dead, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Al-Jaburi told AFP. The incident happened at 11 a.m. when the soldiers opened fire on police thinking they were rebels in the area rife with insurgent activity, Jaburi said.