US claims 75 rebels killed

2005-05-09 12:36

Baghdad - US forces on Monday said they killed 75 Iraqi and foreign rebels over a 24-hour period in a sweep of a desert area close to the Syrian border, a base for Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The region is "a known smuggling route and sanctuary for foreign fighters," the military said in a statement.

It did not specify if US forces had sustained casualties in the ongoing operation involving both air and ground forces.

But eight US servicemen were killed and another was wounded in a series of attacks over the weekend elsewhere in the country, according to separate US military statements.

- AFP