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5 Marines Killed as U.S. Pushes Sweep in Western Iraq
By KIRK SEMPLE
11/16/05 "New
York Times" -- -- UBAYDI, Iraq, Nov 16 - Five Marines
were killed and 11 were wounded this morning while they searched a
house on the outskirts of this town in western Anbar Province,
officials said. It was the deadliest day for American troops since
beginning a wide sweep of several towns along the Euphrates River
near the Syrian border on Nov. 5.
According to several Marines who were briefed on the events, a squad
had just entered a farmhouse in northern Ubaydi when a huge
explosion occurred, possibly caused by a booby-trapped homemade bomb
that insurgents had planted. According to a Marine officer who spoke
with survivors, the squad was then attacked with small arms fire and
grenades by insurgents hiding in the house.
American and Iraqi troops have been sweeping Ubaydi for insurgents
and weapons as part of an operation that has included two other
towns, Husayba and Karabila. Military officers say these towns had
become strongholds for insurgents and stations for foreign fighters
and munitions smuggled into Iraq from Syria.
Today, the American military said that it had captured one of five
senior leaders of the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, Sadiq Ayadah Husayn
Matar, in the Al Qaim region. The statement said he and the others
were responsible for coordinating attacks and for smuggling foreign
fighters into the region from Syria.Late Tuesday night, only hours
before the latest casualties here, the commanding officer of the
operation, Col. Stephen Davis of the Marines' Regimental Combat Team
2, had declared Ubaydi under American control.
The Marines entered the town on Monday morning and immediately met
stiff resistance from insurgents bunkered in buildings. Two Marines
died and nine were wounded that day, most by homemade bombs, though
some in street-to-street fighting. At least one Iraqi Army soldier
and two civilians were also wounded on Monday.
There were no American casualties on Tuesday, though at least four
Iraqi soldiers suffered minor wounds when a roadside bomb exploded
next to their vehicle.
"The place was rigged to explode, the whole city," said Lt. Col.
Dale Alford, commander of the Third Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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