U.S. DECLARES SYRIAN BORDER OPERATION SUCCESSFULBAGHDAD [MENL] -- The U.S. military has deemed its weeklong offensive near the Iraqi-Syrian border as successful.
The military said it killed more than 125 Sunni insurgents and captured 39 others with "intelligence value." The military did not elaborate, but later officers said many insurgents escaped to Syria.
The military said nine U.S. Marines were killed and 40 injured during Operation Matador in which U.S. troops searched for forces aligned with Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. The operation included such western Iraqi towns as Karabila, Obeidi and Romana along the Euphrates River.
"During Operation Matador, Marines, sailors and soldiers neutralized this sanctuary killing more than 125 insurgents, wounding many others, and detaining 39 insurgents of intelligence value," a U.S. military statement said on May 14.