Husaybah, Iraq – A Marine was killed in an insurgent ambush Sunday when his patrol raided a house in this tense border town, the first U.S. casualty in a Marine-led sweep aimed at stopping foreign jihadists from entering from Syria.
A group of Marines began to search the house, which appeared to be empty, and were met with a hail of gunfire that killed one Marine and drove the others outside. Other Marines killed the gunman as he tried to flee from the roof.
The sweep of the 3-square-mile town, involving 3,500 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers, began Saturday and is the largest assault the Marines have conducted since their invasion of the restive city of Fallujah last February. It is the latest in a series aimed at halting the flow of foreign fighters, including suicide bombers, from the Syrian frontier.
According to the U.S. military command, Husaybah is an important coordination center for this enterprise, and in the past several months it has been subjected to an intimidation campaign by fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda’s Iraq operations.
Armed resistance was sporadic Sunday, sharply dropping from the day before. But when shooting erupted, it was fierce.
Insurgents armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers continued to resist the U.S.-led forces by darting along narrow dirt streets or firing from upper-story snipers’ blinds.
The Americans responded with ferocious torrents of automatic-weapons fire, tank rounds and 500-pound aerial bombs. Twice on Sunday, a low-flying F-16 fighter jet strafed a suspected insurgent stronghold.
At least three Marines were wounded Sunday, though none seriously, and the sweep seemed to have caught insurgents off guard, Marine commanders said.
The Marines were particularly on edge about the possibility that the insurgents had rigged houses and streets with explosives and booby traps. Numerous homemade bombs were discovered and safely detonated during the first two days of the operation.
The Marines have found most houses abandoned. Residents say a citywide exodus began in September during a violent feud between two local tribes. More recently, other residents decided to leave amid rumors of a U.S.-led assault.
About 450 residents have left since the beginning of the operation and are being provided with temporary lodging by the Marines, officials said.