US kills 8 rebels in Iraq

2005-10-02 10:31

Baghdad - US forces sweeping western Iraqi territory near the Syrian border have killed eight rebels in their first day of operations, the US military said in a statement.

"Coalition Forces, including helicopters from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, engaged and killed eight armed terrorists in fighting early in the day October 1," the military said.

Some 1–000 US soldiers on Saturday launched Operation "Iron Fist" against a "terrorist sanctuary" in and around Sadah, near Al-Qaim, in the western Al-Anbar province of Iraq.

In one engagement, an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter destroyed a vehicle after its driver fired on a marine position with a rocket-propelled grenade. The rebel was killed.

The offensive is "intended to deny al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists the ability to operate freely in the Euphrates River Valley and to prevent the terrorists from influencing the local population through murder and intimidation," the military said in a statement.

In mid-September, US and Iraqi forces mounted a large-scale operation to recapture the town of Tal Afar, in northwestern Iraq, which had fallen under the sway of insurgents.

The United States has long accused Syria of not doing enough to stop foreign fighters crossing into Iraq.

- AFP