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Troops from the Third Battalion, Second U.S. Marines secure a house during a search of the city of Haditha, 220 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Wednesday, May 25, 2005. About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled Haditha in the troubled Anbar province, launching the second major operation in this vast western region in less than a month. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

An Iraqi detainee accused of having too much ammunition for a licensed weapon faces the wall, blindfolded, while his mother, seated, and sisters plead with U.S. Marines through a translator, right, for his release in Haditha, 220 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Wednesday, May 25, 2005. About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled Haditha, in the troubled Anbar province, launching the second major operation in this vast western region in less than a month. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

Around 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops occupied the western town of Haditha on May 25 2005, searching homes and seizing suspects in an anti-insurgent sweep, the U.S. military and residents said. The town, on the Euphrates river about 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad, has been a focus of militant activity in recent months and the scene of frequent attacks on U.S. troops. An Iraqi man reads a newspaper article about al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Baghdad May 25, 2005. Supporters of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq filled Islamist bulletin boards on the Internet with prayers for his recovery on Wednesday after his group said he had been wounded. Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters