U.S. forces in Iraq have begun a new offensive against insurgents in three major towns in the Euphrates River valley, west of Baghdad.
A U.S. military statement says some 25-hundred U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors, along with Iraqi security forces troops began the operation in Haditha, Haqaniyah and Barwana early today (Tuesday).
The offensive -- named Operation River Gate -- is described as the largest military operation in Al Anbar province this year.
U.S. and Iraqi troops are also continuing a separate operation -- named Iron Fist -- in areas further to the west, near the Syrian border.
Meanwhile, the military said one U.S. Marine and three soldiers were killed in two separate bomb blasts in western Iraq Monday (in the towns of Karabila and Haqaniyah).
Separately, the U.S. military said 78 terrorist suspects have been detained and several weapons caches seized in several raids in Baghdad over the past few days.