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U.S. Offensive in Western Iraq Kills 75
U.S. Forces Launch Offensive Against Insurgents Near Iraq's Border With Syria
An Iraqi policeman arrives to the scene after an Iraqi truck, carrying supplies for the US military, was attacked by unidentified gunmen on the highway near Khalis, 70 km, (45 miles) north of Baqouba, Iraq, Sunday, May 8, 2005. Both Iraqi drivers in the truck were killed, according to local police. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)
By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq May 9, 2005  U.S. forces have launched an offensive against insurgents in western Iraq near the Syrian border, and about 75 militants were killed in the first 24 hours, the military said Monday.
It said the offensive, being conducted with U.S. air support in a desert area of Anbar province north of the Euphrates River, was targeting a sanctuary for foreign insurgents and a smuggling route.
The brief U.S. statement didn't say when the offensive by Marines, sailors and soldiers had begun, how many were included, or whether there had been any American casualties.
The Chicago Tribune reported Monday that more than 1,000 U.S. troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships had attacked villages in and around Obeidi, a city near the Euphrates River in western Iraq not far from the Syrian border, on Sunday.
The report, by a journalist embedded with the U.S. forces, said the offensive "was seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria."
It said the offensive was expected to last for several days.
Recently, U.S. troops appear to have stepped up their attacks on suspected insurgent strongholds, including some near the Syrian border, where foreign militants may be entering the country to attack coalition forces.
For instance, on Sunday, coalition forces killed six insurgents and detained 54 suspects in raids targeting terror group al-Qaida in Iraq in Qaim, a city near Obeidi, the U.S. military said.
Insurgent violence killed eight U.S. service members in Iraq over the weekend, raising the death toll to more than 300 from a torrent of attacks in Iraq since April 28, when a new Iraqi Cabinet was approved by parliament with seven positions undecided.
At least 1,600 members of the U.S. military have now died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
On Monday, a wave of attacks by insurgents, many of them targeting Iraqi security forces and civilians, continued in Baghdad.
U.S. Marine uses a metal rod to check a pothole for mines during a convoy from Camp Al Asad to Al Qaim, Iraq, on April 23, 2005. photo by Cpl. Brian A. Jaques

The U.S. military reports 75 militants dead in an offensive launched Sunday in western Iraq. The offensive was begun with U.S. air support in a desert area north of the Euphrates River in the province of Anbar. There is no word on civilian casualties, if any.

A report by a ''Chicago Tribune'' journalist embedded with U.S. forces said the offensive "was seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria."

More than 1,000 U.S. and coalition troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked villages in and around Al Qaim, near the Syrian border. A statement by the US military said the operation was expected to last several days, and was targeting a smuggling route and hideouts for foreign rebels.

The ''American Forces Press Service'' reports: "Coalition forces also destroyed car bombs, bomb-making material and two buildings that contained large weapons caches to include hand- and rocket-propelled grenades."

The ''New York Times'' reports an estimate of insurgent casualties at over 100.  

Col. Bob Chase, the chief of operations for the Second Marine Division, has said there were "a handful" of marine casualties.  The source also reports Chase saying, "The objective is to totally disrupt the safe havens and rat lines that have allowed them to bring those materials across the border. This had been a very secure area for the insurgents."

In a statement made from an Islamist website that could not be confirmed, the Al-Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly said, "The adorers of the cross claim to have killed 75 Muslims at Al-Qaim. Once more, they are lying, because lying is their religion," according to Forbes.