US assault intensifies near border with Syria

AMERICAN fighter jets flattened a suspected insurgent safe house near the Syrian border and hundreds of US troops conducted house-to-house searches in remote desert villages for followers militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

American forces have met little resistance since the first two days of Operation Matador, which began on Saturday, aimed at clearing a region believed to be a haven for foreign fighters slipping into Iraq from Syria.

American intelligence indicates the insurgents are either in hiding or have fled, US Capt Jeffrey Pool said.