HADITHA, Iraq – U.S. troops pushed through streets sown with bombs yesterday in their biggest operation this year in western Iraq, seeking to retake three Euphrates River towns from al-Qaeda insurgents. At least five U.S. service members have been killed in the fighting.
Operation River Gate – launched at the start of the holy month of Ramadan – was the second U.S. offensive in a week in Anbar province, near the Syrian border. The group Al-Qaeda in Iraq called for intensified attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces during the Muslim period of fasting, which started yesterday for the nation's Sunnis.
Blasts from U.S. warplanes and helicopters lit up the sky during the fighting, aimed at putting down Sunni-led insurgents intensifying their campaign of violence ahead of an Oct. 15 vote on Iraq's new constitution.
As with the earlier U.S. offensive – code named Operation Iron Fist – it appeared that many fighters may have slipped away beforehand.
Late Monday and early yesterday, some 2,500 U.S. troops along with Iraqi forces launched their operation with a powerful air assault on Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Parwana, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Dozens of helicopters streamed toward the Euphrates towns in a phalanx. Rockets fired by choppers flashed in the pre-dawn darkness, followed by explosions and tracer fire.
At least twice, illuminating flares went up over Haqlaniyah – a sign that U.S. troops were fighting insurgents on the ground.
U.S. warplanes struck bridges to prevent al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters from escaping the towns, but arriving troops encountered dozens of roadside bombs on main avenues, apparently in anticipation of the operation, Marine commanders said.
A single roadside bomb in Haqlaniyah on Monday killed three U.S. service members, apparently among the first ground troops to move in.
U.S. snipers took positions on rooftops in Haqlaniyah as troops with loudspeakers ordered residents to stay inside, witnesses said.
In Haditha, mosque loudspeakers urged residents to confront the Americans, but Marines said they encountered little resistance.
"Some of them may have gotten away. But those that are here, we'll get them," said Capt. Shannon Neller, of New York, commander of Lima Company in 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Troops were concentrating on "systematically clearing" Haditha by doing house-to-house searches and locating bombs planted around town, Neller said.
"A lot of the locals we met were very helpful, and a lot pointed out insurgents or those who had been helping them," Neller said. At least 11 people were detained.
The earlier U.S. offensive began Saturday, 93 miles upriver by the Syrian border, and continued yesterday in the towns of Sadah, Karabilah and Rumana. A bomb killed a Marine in Karabilah, the first casualty of that operation.
At least 41 insurgents have been killed in Iron Fist, the U.S. military said. But many fighters appeared to have fled before the assault, with the military reporting no major engagements yesterday.
Operation River Gate was notable for the strongest participation this year by Iraqi troops – U.S. commanders said hundreds were involved – at a time of deep concerns about their readiness.
