America's North Shore Journal

and not in the good way. MNF-I Iraqi Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, targeted Al Qaeda in Iraq and and other terrorist operations in two intelligence-driven operations Aug. 15 across northern Iraq. The forces detained eight suspected terrorists, including the leader of a sniper cell in western Mosul. In the first operation in the Al Mansour district of western Mosul, Iraqi Security Forces detained an alleged sniper amir who operates in western Mosul. Intelligence indicates the targeted individual actively recruits snipers to his cell from other groups and smuggles these snipers back and forth over the western Iraqi border in order for them to receive advanced sniper training in Syria. The forces also seized weapons, ammunition and assorted documents at the suspect’s residence. In a second operation, the 3rd Brigade … Read entire article »

Las Vegas Sun From their rooftops, Syrians in frontier towns watched airstrikes and battles on the other side of the Iraqi border, where U.S. forces are fighting insurgents in an offensive raging uncomfortably close to Syria’s doorstep. Rawaf Hamad, a farmer in the village of Showaiyeh, said he was shaken awake at 3 a.m. Thursday by shelling about a mile away in the Iraqi town of al-Qaim. He heard the sound of warplanes. “There was heavy gunfire that lasted until 6 a.m. today,” the 24-year-old said. Besides unnerving border residents, the fighting is politically unsettling for the Syrian government – in light of persistent U.S. pressure on it to do more to stop fighters crossing its borders into Iraq. The Syrian government has not made any comment about the combat, and its security … Read entire article »

Chicago Tribune [reg] With the Marines pressing the assault, new details emerged about the pitched battles that took place Sunday in Ubaydi, a town perched on the tip of a bend in the Euphrates, about 12 miles east of the Syrian border. As Army engineers worked to build the pontoon bridge, waiting Marines came under mortar fire from a town they had assumed was free of the enemy. After calling in air strikes from prowling fighter jets and helicopter gunships, the Marines entered the town in armored personnel carriers and light armored vehicles. At times the fighting was door to door as Marines sifted through areas where resistance was stiffest. According to commanders, Marines entered walled-off front yards in a row of white townhouses in the town’s southwest corner to find a … Read entire article »