Disrupting the Desert 'Rat Lines' in Western Iraq

Iraqis pose with the remnants of what they say is a destroyed U.S. military vehicle that was part of

KARABLA, Iraq: Iraqis cheer as they pose for the camera near what they say is a destroyed US military vehicle in Karabla in the al-Qaim district close to the Syrian Iraqi border, 15 May 2005. The vehicle was destroyed during the week-long US military offensive code-named 'Operation Matador' in the al-Qaim area 350 kilometres (280 miles) west of Baghdad, in the Sunni al-Anbar province. The large-scale offensive was launched to flush insurgents out of the area and disrupt their supply routes to Syria, ended yesterday, the military announced AFP PHOTO/ALI KAMAR (Photo credit should read ALI KAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Operation Matador, an offensive against jihadist insurgents in western Iraq, entered its third day May 10 with U.S. Marines claiming to have killed more than 100 insurgents along the ancient smuggling trails — so-called "rat lines" — supplying foreign fighters from Syria. The operation, which is the largest U.S. offensive since the assault on Al Fallujah in November 2004, comes as the political and military pressure increases against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his militant jihadist group al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. military reports that three Marines have died in the operation so far, and The Associated Press reports that 20 Marines have been wounded. Al Qaeda in Iraq issued a statement over the Internet on May 10 discounting U.S. claims of insurgents killed in the operation and stating that U.S. suffered much higher casualties.