text: U.S. Commander Claims Success in Samarra (AP) AP - Afraid to stray from home, residents buried the dead in their gardens Saturday as U.S. and Iraqi forces battled pockets of resistance in this former insurgent stronghold, where the American military said 125 rebels were killed and 88 captured in two days of fierce fighting. The American commander declared the operation a successful first step in a major push to wrest key areas from insurgent control before January elections.