Camp al Qaim, Iraq – Two Marines were killed and at least nine injured in ambushes and fierce street battles Monday as about 2,000 American and Iraqi troops stormed Ubaydi, a riverside town near the Syrian border that American commanders say has become a haven for foreign jihadists.
At least one Iraqi army soldier and two Iraqi civilians were wounded in the clashes.
The operation was a continuation of a sweep in the area that began Nov. 5, and resistance appeared to be as stiff as anything the Americans have faced in western Anbar province. The Marine-led forces faced steady resistance throughout the day and encountered an array of mines and hidden bombs in the town’s houses and dusty streets. More than 70 guerrillas were killed and more than 100 people suspected of being insurgents were detained, said Col. Stephen Davis of the Marine Corps, who was commanding the operation from this base south of Ubaydi.
In Ubaydi, armored vehicles rolled through the streets and helicopters and fighter jets roared overhead as the battle unfolded from dawn until well into the night.
The assault – involving about 1,500 American troops and 500 Iraqi army soldiers – was the latest in the American military’s campaign to ferret out insurgents who use Euphrates River towns in Anbar province to smuggle in fighters and materiel from Syria.
The operation follows a similar one last week to clear the towns of Husaybah and neighboring Karabila, farther west along the Euphrates. All three towns had become insurgent strongholds as well as command centers for the smuggling pipeline from Syria.
Meanwhile, in London, Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was “entirely reasonable” to “talk about the possibility” that the troops could begin leaving by the end of next year. The discussion, he added, “has got to be always conditioned by the fact that we withdraw when the job is done.”