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HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Driving through the marketplace, Sgt. Scott Wood saw many signs of daily life returning to the city center: children playing in the streets, men squatting near shops — and al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda hanging on a wall. “Hey, come here,” Wood, a 27-year-old Texas native, shouted to a nearby merchant as he ripped a black-and-white printout of Arabic script off the wall. “Muj?” Wood demanded, holding the paper in his gloved hand. “Mujahadeen?” “Yes, mujahadeen,” the merchant said. Although Marines conducted a house-by-house search of the entire area last week, they have begun to find several signs...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 9, 2005) – Operation Steel Curtain continued into its fifth day as Iraqi forces and U.S. Soldiers and Marines completed clearing operations to root out any remaining insurgents in Husaybah, near the Syrian border. By the fourth day of the operation, 180 suspected terrorist had been detained and 17 large weapons caches had been discovered. Iraqi Army soldiers and U.S. forces set conditions for a permanent security presence within the city of Husaybah, officials said. They said patrols and raids were also being conducted to clear out any remaining al Qaeda-led insurgents. Husaybah...

Day one of Operation Steel Curtain, which is aimed at dislodging al Qaeda from the border town of Husaybah and estabishing a permanent presence of Iraqi troops, has ended. CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with the Marines fighting in Husaybah., and reports the town was largely abandoned due to fighting between the pro-government Albu Mahla tribe and the pro-al Qaeda Karabilah tribe over the summer. The street fighting has been reported to have been intense in the center and southwest corner of the city. Over thirty roadside bombs and booby trapped homes have been uncovered, along with two car bombs....

US and Iraqi forces have launched an offensive along the border with Syria called Operation Steel Curtain involving some 3500 troops, the US military said today. The goal of the military sweep "is to restore security along the Iraqi-Syrian border and destroy the Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist network operating throughout Husaybah, located on the Iraqi-Syrian border," the military said. The operation involves some 1000 Iraqi army soldiers as well as 2500 Marines, sailors and soldiers. "Operation Steel Curtain marks the first large-scale employment of multiple battalion-sized units of Iraqi Army forces in combined operations" with US-led forces, the military said.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2005 – Coalition forces conducted an air strike against an identified terrorist safe haven in Husaybah, Iraq, near the country's Syrian border, military officials reported. No assessment was immediately available on terrorist casualties. Over the past two days, officials said, numerous reliable sources saw 50 al Qaeda terrorists staging weapons at a train station. Marine Corps F/A-18s destroyed the building using precision-guided 500-pound bombs. Coalition aircraft attacked similar safe houses Aug. 26 and Aug. 30 in Husaybah after Iraqi citizens reported that a large group of terrorists was using an abandoned hotel and house to plan and...

Every muslim not associated with or in agreement with Al Quida or those who support them, and every freeman throughout the world needs to read this message from this man who experienced the actions of Al Quida, thinking he was their ally. This is the face of tyranny that we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and eslewhere around the world, another reason why WE MUST stay the course in Iraq: Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the...

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents. Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country. The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code. Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May...

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents. Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country. The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code. Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May...

THE MORNING PAPER I hear a "splat !" on the driveway,and stroll out to retrieve the morning paper. What have we here ? Inside the bag,beside the newspaper,there is a plastic extension bar-designed to fit inside one's toilet paper dispenser.It will accomodate the new "Mega rolls" of "squeezably soft" tissue being introduced by the wonderful folks at CharminThere's even a picture of the bear cub that does you-know-what in the woods...but wipes ! Isn't that special ? Oh,well. Let's see what's in the paper."Speech by the President" - open to page A 9.(The front page has been taken up by...

Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Butler shook himself from the rubble of a suicide truck bombing. He staggered to the ledge of his three-story guard tower and stared into a cloud of white smoke. Butler, 21, of Altoona, Pa., was temporarily deafened by the blast, but he recalled what came next with cinematic clarity. The white smoke parted to reveal a clean red fire engine. It sped past a mural bidding travelers "Goodbye From Free Iraq" and hurtled directly toward Butler, who shot at the fire engine until it exploded about 40 yards away from him. This true-life nightmare occurred on...

<p>HUSAYBAH, Iraq - As Marines commemorated the lives of five of their fallen comrades Thursday, some say that they may have turned a corner in their relationship with residents of the troublesome city of Husaybah.</p> <p>Marines say formerly truculent residents have begun waving and greeting them cordially, just days after some of the fiercest fighting and after Marines conducted harsh door-to-door searches of homes.</p>

HUSAYBAH, Iraq - As Marines commemorated the lives of five of their fallen comrades Thursday, some say that they may have turned a corner in their relationship with residents of this troublesome city. Marines say formerly truculent residents have begun waving and greeting them cordially, just days after some of the fiercest fighting and after Marines conducted harsh door-to-door searches of homes. Meanwhile, Marines say that Iraqi police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps are showing new signs of cooperation after being less than fully willing to help Marines bring order and stability to the region. "It's a significant change...

BAGHDAD – The United States has been fighting what officials term a silent war with Syria which killed at least five soldiers over the weekend. U.S. officials said U.S. Marines have deployed along the Syrian border to stop the flow of insurgents and equipment to Iraq. They said marines have engaged with both Sunni insurgents as well as some Syrian security personnel along the border in clashes that have intensified over the last few weeks. The U.S. military presence – increased by more than a third over the last two months – was said to be focused on the western...

<p>HUSAYBAH, Iraq - Lance Cpl. Dustin Myshrall knew things were going to be bad from the moment he responded to the call for help from his fellow Marines.</p> <p>"There was nobody on Market Street (the city's busiest thoroughfare)," said Myshrall, 22, of Baton Rouge, La. "We were flying through the alleys and there weren't any of the little kids like you normally see. But we didn't know it was going to be this big."</p>

HUSAYBAH, Iraq - (KRT) - Six Marines were killed and scores of insurgent Iraqis slain in a fierce 14-hour battle Saturday between Marines and mujahedeen fighters who slipped into this town near the Syrian border. According to Marines, an estimated 300 Iraqis from Fallujah and Ramadi launched an assault against the Americans in Husaybah around 8 a.m. local time, beginning with a roadside bombing and a flurry of 24 mortars. When Marines responded to the bombing, they were met with small-arms and machine-gun fire as they neared a former Baath Party headquarters. Marines responding to the call for help were...

<p>HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Six Marines were killed and scores of insurgent Iraqis slain in a fierce 14-hour battle Saturday between Marines and mujahedeen fighters who slipped into this town near the Syrian border.</p> <p>According to Marines, an estimated 300 Iraqis from Fallujah and Ramadi launched an assault against the Americans in Husaybah around 8 a.m., beginning with a roadside bombing and a flurry of 24 mortars.</p>

GIs won't forget duty at Iraq's `Alamo' By Stephen J. HedgesTribune correspondentPublished October 26, 2003 HUSAYBAH, Iraq -- It was the end of another tense night inside the close, neglected walls of this building in a far-off corner of western Iraq. Army Capt. Steve Smith's face betrayed the weariness that comes with his new assignment: guarding this squat symbol of Iraq's uncertain future. But he made a stab at cordiality. "Welcome to the Alamo," he said one morning last week, extending his hand to a visitor. "It has been unusually quiet." The quiet did not last. It never does. Within...