US soldiers have embarked on a major assault on al-Qaeda-linked
militants in western Iraq, the US military says.
Some 1,000 ground troops stormed Sadah, a town near the Syrian border in Anbar
province, following earlier helicopter strikes, officials say.
They say Operation Iron Fist - the latest in a series of assaults in the area - will tackle infiltration and destroy the insurgents' haven.
Local doctors told the BBC at least 10 civilians have died in the operation.
The dead - who include at least three children - were reportedly travelling
in two vehicles carrying fleeing families.
Operation Iron Fist is the first major assault in western Iraq since US and
Iraqi troops struck the town of Talafar - also near the Syrian border - in
September.
BBC Baghdad correspondent Caroline Hawley says the US offensives have largely failed to stop a series of deadly bombings blamed on the insurgents.
Violence has spiralled as Iraqis prepare to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, scheduled for 15 October.
At least 10 people were killed when a bomb exploded in a market in the town of Hilla on Friday.
On Thursday, blasts in the town of Balad claimed 95 lives.
Detainees freed
Meanwhile, 500 detainees have been released from the US prison at Abu Ghraib,
near Baghdad, bringing the total number of prisoners released this week to
1,000.
The US said the freed prisoners were not guilty of serious crimes.
Their release has been timed with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, due to start in a few days' time.
Abu Ghraib prison became synonymous with the mistreatment of detainees after pictures emerged last year of US soldiers abusing Iraqi captives.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has meanwhile said the US cannot abandon its mission in Iraq.
She said the US public had to realise the consequences of ceding the country
to "barbaric killers".
© Gigaware™ Ltd 2005