Monday, November 14 2005 20:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Baghdad: US and Iraqi troops launched an assault today (Nov 14, 2005) on another town near the Syrian border and killed 37 insurgents, while a car bomb detonated outside a gate leading into the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad killed three foreigners.

Operation Steel Curtain entered a new phase when U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into the Euphrates Rver valley town of Obeidi, about 300 kilometers west of Baghdad.

"Five targets were struck by coalition air strikes resulting in an estimated 37 insurgents killed. The insurgents were engaging coalition forces with small arms fire at the time of the strikes," a US statement said.

"Preliminary reports indicate an estimated 25 insurgents have already been captured and are currently detained," he said.

The troops assigned to the 2nd Marine Division have already fought their way through two neighboring towns, Husaybah and Karabilah. US forces believe the border towns have been an entry point for insurgent fighters and weapons into Iraq.

The explosion in Baghdad killed three foreigners and wounded three others, the Iraqi interior ministry said.

The blast apparently targeted a convoy of sport utility vehicles leaving the Green Zone, the headquarters of the Iraqi government and U.S. forces in Iraq.