Toro, Toro, Toro!: Operation Matador Kills 100 Terrorists

Raiding a terrorist stronghold used to transport men and material across the Syrian border to the US, Marines have blocked the most likely avenues of escapde and forced the cowards into a stand-up fight.

It's the biggest offensive since last year's Siege of Fallujah, and hopefully this time the bastards won't be permitted to flee:

The offensive by more than 1,000 Marines, sailors and soldiers included helicopter gunships, fighter jets, tanks and light armored vehicles. U.S. officials described the area as a known smuggling route and a haven for foreign fighters involved in Iraq's insurgency.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighters dropped two 500-pound laser-guided bombs and fired 510 20-millimeter cannon rounds Sunday against insurgents around Qaim and that Marine F/A-18 fighters fired 319 20-millimeter cannon rounds.

The paper quoted U.S. Col. Bob Chase, chief of operations for the Second Marine Division, as saying: "The enemy honestly felt that they had a sense of security up there. It had been a safe haven, and a lot of folks up there were former Baathists," referring to Saddam Hussein's former ruling party.

"Now it is no longer a safe haven, and it will never be a safe haven again," said Chase. He was quoted as saying insurgents have had a network of illegal "rat lines" of men and materials moving from Syria into Iraq that had to be stopped, and said the offensive would continue for several days.

The Los Angeles Times reporter embedded with the offensive said the insurgents appeared well-prepared, having sandbag bunkers piled in front of some homes and that fighters were strategically positioned on rooftops and balconies.

Bill Roggio has lots of links.

And Arthur Chrenkoff says the "dam has broken" -- the appointment of a Sunni to the position of Defense Minister has caused thousands of Sunnis to enlist in the army and thereby join the new Iraq.

The media keeps rooting for an "insurgent" Tet, but they may have to content themselves with a terrorist Dien Bien Phu.

posted by Ace at 09:18 AM

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