Eight killed in Operation Iron Fist

US forces killed at least eight insurgents while sweeping through a village near the Syrian border in an offensive aimed at rooting out al-Qaida militants in the region, the military said today.

About 1,000 US troops, backed by attack helicopters and warplanes, began the offensive in the western village of Sadah on Saturday morning, also hoping to close insurgent supply routes and stem violence ahead of Iraq’s crucial vote on a new constitution this month.

US aircraft firing missiles struck houses and cars, sending palls of smoke into the sky as the forces moved into Sadah.

The first day of Operation Iron Fist saw several clashes with insurgents in and around Sadah, which is located on the banks of the Euphrates River, eight miles east of the Syrian border, the military said in its first full report on the fighting.

Insurgents drove two vehicles toward one US Marine position, dismounted and began to attack with small-arms fire, the military said. One of the vehicles was found to be rigged with explosives. The gun-battle left four insurgents dead, the military said. A fifth surrendered.

Elsewhere, Marines found and destroyed a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Sadah, and a US tank destroyed a vehicle carrying a bomb southwest of the village, the military said.

North of Sadah, US forces killed three members of the al-Qaida in Iraq insurgent group after they attacked a US checkpoint with small-arms fire, the military said.

Another militant was killed when a US Cobra helicopter destroyed a vehicle after its driver fired on a Marine position with a rocket-propelled grenade, the military said.

A second vehicle believed to be carrying grenades was destroyed by missile fire from the Cobra, but its drive and passenger escaped, the military said.

No US casualties were reported.

US forces today appeared to be widening the offensive to the nearby towns of Karabila and Rumana.

The assault was the fourth large US offensive in the border area since May. But the militants who run rampant in large parts of western Iraq have proven difficult to put down, moving back to towns after the assaults are over and the bulk of troops withdraw.

Al-Qaida and other Sunni-led insurgents have stepped up their campaign of violence, killing at least 205 people this week in an attempt to wreck the October 15 referendum on the constitution, a vital step in Iraq’s political process.