Iraqi authorities lifted a curfew Monday in northern Nineveh, allowing people to leave their homes three days after a military offensive was launched in the province.

Driving is still prohibited but the curfew on vehicles will be gradually lifted, the Nineveh operations command said in a statement carried by the Voices of Iraq news agency.

'People can open their shops and do their business and move around on foot,' the statement said.

The curfew has been in force since Friday evening.

The Iraqi government has deployed an armoured brigade of army troops, launching an offensive codenamed Lion's Roar against Al Qaeda militants in Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh.

More troops are to move into the area backed by thousands of local Sunni tribesmen, who are taking part in the onslaught on the terrorist network.

Many of these tribesmen were once allies with Al Qaeda but have now turned against the terrorist network and joined forces with the government.

Insurgents loyal to the Al Qaeda in Iraq group have over the last year lost their foothold in Baghdad and Anbar province in the west of the country and have been regrouping in Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad.

In north-western Baghdad, a US soldier was struck by a homemade bomb while on a routine clearance patrol, the US military said Monday.

The attack occurred at 9.20 pm Saturday.

The soldier died of his wounds. His death brings the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since March 2003 to 4,076.