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BAGHDAD, July 11 (KUNA) -- US troops and Iraqi security forces continued Monday carrying out Operation Sword in the Zaidan area southeastern Al-Falujah. A Multi-National Forces (MNF) statement said today that the operation is to clear the area along the Euphrates River between the towns of Haditha and Heet in Al-Anbar province of terrorists and foreign fighters. Furthermore, an explosive device blew-up early this morning near a US Army patrol vehicle, the statement said, adding that another explosion took place during a security patrol. The statement added that US Marines discovered two ammunition caches in the Zaidan area including bombs,...

U.S. Marines said on Saturday they had launched a new counter-insurgency operation, the latest in a series of sweeps designed to root out militant bases in Iraq's Euphrates valley. Operation Scimitar involved about 500 U.S. troops and 100 Iraqis, making it about half the scale of Operation Sword and Operation Spear in the past three weeks. The military said the Marines had detained 22 suspected militants since the raid was launched in secret in the village of Zaidon 30 km (20 miles) southeast of Falluja on Thursday. Washington says the western Euphrates valley between the Syrian border and Baghdad is...

U.S. Marines ride in Amphibious Assault Vehicles during the fourth day of Operation Sword in Hit, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 2, 2005. U.S. and Iraqi forces announced Saturday they will establish bases in the city and maintain a constant presence. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2005 – Iraqi security forces detained eight suspected terrorists June 29 in eastern Baghdad during combined operations, military officials in Iraq reported. Seven of the suspects were found with material used for the production and emplacement of roadside bombs. One had false Palestinian documents. Elsewhere, an Iraqi army unit captured five suspected terrorists June 28 after an Iraqi citizen told the soldiers about a terrorist safe house in northern Baghdad's Rabi district. The Iraqi soldiers found two rocket-propelled grenade launchers and two RPG rounds in addition to the five suspects. The five terror suspects were taken into...

BAGHDAD, June 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines launched a major operation in western Iraq on Tuesday, dispatching 1,000 troops against suspected insurgents in the western Euphrates river valley. "Operation Saif (Sword) began early this morning to root out terrorists and foreign fighters living along the Euphrates River between the cities of Haditha and Hit," the Marines said in a statement. Marine and army units were backed by a company of 100 Iraqi soldiers, it said. The operation, in an area 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad, is at least the fourth battalion-sized operation the Marines have launched in...