U.S. Military Launches New Iraq Offensive

"HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (AP) - Some 2,500 U.S. troops along with Iraqi forces launched their second major offensive in western Iraq in a week Tuesday, sweeping into three towns to take them back from insurgents who had killed Marines there last month.

The U.S. military announced its first casualties of the offensives, with four troops killed by roadside bombs during the fighting and a fifth elsewhere.

The assaults in western Iraq aim to put down al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni-led insurgent groups that have waged a campaign of violence aimed at wrecking a crucial Oct. 15 national vote on a new constitution. The United States has hoped the new charter would bring together the country's fractious communities, but Sunnis sharply oppose it."
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