US launches new offensive in western Iraq

The US military today launched a major offensive in a cluster of cities in the Euphrates River valley aimed at insurgents who were using the area as a safe haven and who had killed 20 Marines there in August.

Air strikes by US warplanes and dozens of helicopters set off explosions that lit the city skylines of Haqlaniyah and nearby Parwana. Barrages of gunfire also were seen in the night sky. Large sections of Haqlaniyah’s power were knocked out before dawn.