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US-led Forces Launch New Offensive In Iraq
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=FA97C1:3919ACA

'Operation Steel Curtain' is taking place in Husaybah, some 320
kilometers west of Baghdad





US Army Apache Helicopter provides air support for Coalition forces
attached to 2nd Marine Division for assault during Operation Steel
Curtain in Husaybah, Iraq

U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched a new offensive against al-Qaida
in Iraq's stronghold in western Iraq, close to the Syrian border.

The U.S. military said Saturday, that 2500 U.S. service members and a
thousand Iraqi soldiers are participating in the operation, dubbed
"Steel Curtain."

This operation follows two others, Operations Iron Fist and River
Gate, in the same region. It is intended to restore security along the
porous Iraqi-Syrian border and destroy the al-Qaida in Iraq network
which operates near the border town of Husaybah and in the Euphrates
River Valley.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military says three American soldiers were killed
Friday, two in Baghdad and one in the Ramadi area.

And in Morocco, a national march is planned for Sunday in Casablanca
to call for the release of two kidnapped Moroccans al-Qaida in Iraq
says they plan to execute.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.


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