May 9, 2005
U.S.: 100 Militants Killed In Iraq
Major Offensive Near Syrian Border Targets Zarqawi Followers
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Family members grieve next to the coffin of their dead kin during a funeral ceremony in Sadr City in Baghdad. (AP)
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New Iraqi interior minister Bayan Baker Solagh, center, gestures during a press conference after meeting Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq. (AP)
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A destroyed police car is taken away after a suicide car bomb exploded at an intersection in southern Baghdad, Iraq. (AP)
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Marines, sailors and soldiers from Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, were conducting the offensive in an area north of the Euphrates River, in the al-Jazirah Desert, a known smuggling route and sanctuary for foreign insurgents, the military said.
The brief statement did not specify when the operation began, how many troops were involved, or whether there had been any American casualties. But U.S. military spokesmen later said the offensive started on Saturday and that it had killed as many as 100 militants. The military also reported that two U.S. Marines were killed in the area on Sunday and one on Monday.
A senior U.S. military official said the operation is targeting a group of al-Zarqawi followers believed to be operating in the area. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is leader of the terrorist group al Qaeda in Iraq. He has declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and is tied to many bombings and kidnappings since the U.S.-led invasion removed Saddam Hussein from power two years ago.
The offensive is one of the largest involving U.S. troops since American and Iraqi forces took over the insurgent bastion of Fallujah in November. Two weeks ago, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers completed a four-day operation against insurgents north of Baghdad where a civilian helicopter was shot down.
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