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Action in the Wild West
U.S. fighter planes equipped with precision-guided missiles launched airstrikes on an Iraqi town near the Syrian border Saturday, killing about 40 insurgents who were stopping and searching civilian cars, the military said. Seven missiles were fired at heavily armed insurgents near Karabilah, close to the volatile town of Qaim, the Marines said in a statement. The insurgents were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers and had "set up a barricade on a main road to the city and were threatening Iraqi civilians," the military said. U.S. warplanes backed by helicopters started the airstrikes at 11:40 a.m. and ended them at 4 p.m. "once all the targets were destroyed," the military said. About 40 insurgents were killed. The Marines suffered no casualties. "The coalition aircraft and fighter jets and attack helicopters from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing attacked the insurgent compound and surrounding area targeting the armed men," the statement said. "There are no reports of civilian casualties or collateral damage." It was unclear whether any foreign fighters were among the slain insurgents. The region is known as a haven for Islamic extremists crossing in and out of Iraq across the Syrian border to attack U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Posted by: Bobby 2005-06-11 |
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