1,000 U.S. Troops Launch Offensive in Iraq on Yahoo! News

By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer

Helicopters swept down near palm tree groves and armored vehicles roared into this Euphrates River city before dawn Wednesday as 1,000 U.S. troops launched the second major offensive in less than a month aimed at uprooting insurgents.

Fierce gunbattles broke out and six insurgents were killed in central Haditha — including one man identified as a cleric who was firing an automatic weapon, the U.S. military said, adding that another four were killed in separate clashes.

Marines brought by helicopters blocked one side of Haditha, while other troops on foot and in armored vehicles established checkpoints and moved toward the city's center. U.S. warplanes circled overhead.

Two Marines were wounded and evacuated, Capt. Christopher Toland told an Associated Press reporter embedded with U.S. forces.

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