Hopes fade of trapping many insurgents in western Iraq :

Curtain is beginning to fall on joint U.S.-Iraqi operation near Syrian border
By Gordon TrowbridgeTimes staff writer

KARABILAH, Iraq — U.S. Marines pushed into the heart of this Euphrates River town on Thursday, a final step in a 3,500-troop operation to clear insurgents from towns near the Syrian border.
Commanders had hoped to trap scores of insurgents in Karabilah, squeezing them from the neighboring town of Husaybah against U.S. blocking positions around the city. But when 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, marched in just after noon Thursday, they found only abandoned buildings and some roadside bombs.

“Maybe tonight is bingo night,” joked Staff Sgt. J.C. Knight, platoon sergeant of 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, as his platoon searched houses along a desolate alley.

Knight’s battalion began planning Thursday to sweep through farmland north of Karabilah, make camp in the fields Thursday night and enter the town Friday morning.

But 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, which was moving from west to east towards Karabilah, made more progress than expected, reaching its objective during the morning. That cleared the way for 3/6 to enter the heart of the city — a triangle-shaped collection of neighborhoods that the Marines call the Shark Fin — a day ahead of schedule.

The two battalions, accompanied by Iraqi Army soldiers and backed by a screen of soldiers from two U.S. Army battalions, kicked off Operation Steel Curtain on Nov. 5, pushing through Husaybah, an important link in the flow of insurgent manpower, money and supplies across the Syrian border.

The Shark Fin has been targeted for a month by Marine snipers, heavy weapons and air strikes, as spotters in positions just outside the area have called in attacks against insurgents. As Marines searched empty house after empty house Thursday, they increasingly became convinced that any insurgents left in the city had blended in with refugees camped in the farm fields to the north, or managed to flee across the Euphrates.

“These guys have eluded a lot of people,” said Cpl. Ben Hanenkratt, 23, of Toledo, Ohio. “If they get across the river, they’re gone.”

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