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HIT, Iraq - U.S. Marines conducting raids aimed at disrupting foreign fighter networks in western Iraq defused nine roadside bombs Friday, a day after a light armored vehicle struck a mine, injuring six Marines, a company commander said.A supply convoy entering the city of Hit found the roadside bombs along a major artery, and Marines taking part in Operation Sword traced trigger wires to a school, said Maj. Steve Lawson, of Columbus Ohio, who commands the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.
The bombs were spread along 500 yards of roadway by insurgents.
"That was part of their prepared defense," Lawson said. His company is responsible for the central third of the city, 85 miles west of Baghdad in volatile Anbar province.
Marines finished searching houses for weapons on Friday morning and began foot patrols to maintain a presence in the city. Operation Sword began Tuesday with more than a 1,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers.
Lawson said his company has detained 10 suspected insurgents and one of its tanks killed a man moments after they saw him trigger a roadside bomb.
The six Marines injured Thursday suffered broken legs and concussions.
Marines have met little resistance in the town. "The enemy looks like they ran away," he said.
The biggest foe has become the heat with temperatures soaring to 122 degrees and Marines have been searching for cold sodas only to find most shops were shuttered either because it's Friday the start of Iraq's weekend or because of the troop activity, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
Some Marines took some time out to e-mail family and friends from an Internet room at the school where the trigger wires for the roadside bombs were found.
The offensive was in stark contrast to Operation Spear two weeks ago, when U.S.-led forces carried out airstrikes and tank shelling in the town of Karabilah near the porous Syrian border, killing about 50 suspected militants and leaving sections of the city in rubble. The frontier is considered the main portal for foreign fighters entering Iraq.
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The bombs were spread along 500 yards of roadway by insurgents.
"That was part of their prepared defense," Lawson said. His company is responsible for the central third of the city, 85 miles west of Baghdad in volatile Anbar province.
Marines finished searching houses for weapons on Friday morning and began foot patrols to maintain a presence in the city. Operation Sword began Tuesday with more than a 1,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers.
Lawson said his company has detained 10 suspected insurgents and one of its tanks killed a man moments after they saw him trigger a roadside bomb.
The six Marines injured Thursday suffered broken legs and concussions.
Marines have met little resistance in the town. "The enemy looks like they ran away," he said.
The biggest foe has become the heat with temperatures soaring to 122 degrees and Marines have been searching for cold sodas only to find most shops were shuttered either because it's Friday the start of Iraq's weekend or because of the troop activity, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
Some Marines took some time out to e-mail family and friends from an Internet room at the school where the trigger wires for the roadside bombs were found.
The offensive was in stark contrast to Operation Spear two weeks ago, when U.S.-led forces carried out airstrikes and tank shelling in the town of Karabilah near the porous Syrian border, killing about 50 suspected militants and leaving sections of the city in rubble. The frontier is considered the main portal for foreign fighters entering Iraq.
-http://www.hostpooling.com|