BAGHDAD, Iraq - Clashes erupted between U.S. troops and insurgents today in the troubled city of Ramadi west of the capital, leaving at least two people dead, officials said.

In Baghdad, gunmen assassinated the deputy chief of the Interior Ministry's immigration office, Gen. Ghazi Mohammed Issa, in a drive-by shooting in the western suburb of Ghazaliya, a top ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

In an Internet statement, al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Interior Ministry official said gunmen also attacked a convoy of trucks carrying food for the Trade Ministry in Salman Pak, southeast of the capital. Three civilians were killed in the assault and at least one of the trucks was set on fire.

Unidentified gunmen also shot dead the deputy head of Hay Alfurat Hospital in western Baghdad, officials said.

The clashes in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, lasted for more than an hour. City shops were closed and streets were deserted as U.S. troops took up sniper positions on rooftops.

Dr. Salah al-Ani of Ramadi's main hospital said at least two Iraqis were killed and two others wounded.

Elsewhere, U.S. troops killed two men overnight they identified as terrorists who launched an attack in Ad Duja, about 30 miles of the capital. Six people were detained by U.S. forces - one of the wounded attackers and five others.

Today's violence came a day after insurgents launched a wave of attacks that killed 33 people and wounded dozens.

The terror group Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for much of Monday's bloodshed.

Amid the violence, negotiations to form Iraq's first democratically elected government have persisted. Iraqi Kurds said they were close to a deal with the Shiite clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance to secure many of their territorial demands and ensure the country's secular character after its National Assembly convenes March 16.

The dominant Shiite Muslim alliance, however, said although it agreed that Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani would become Iraq's president, it was still talking about other conditi

ons set by the Kurds.