Al-Qaeda Fighters Killed In Airstrike In Western Iraq

Several suspected al-Qaeda fighters were killed in western Iraq today when U.S.-led forces used precision-guided bombs to destroy three terrorist hideouts in two cities near the Syrian border, the military said. At least 50 people died in the raids. Four bombs were dropped on a house ``occupied by terrorists'' outside the city of Husaybah in the first strike, the military said in a statement e-mailed from the capital, Baghdad. Then, at 6:20 a.m. local time, two bombs were dropped on a second house, killing a man identified as ``Abu Islam, a known terrorist'' and several others, the military said. At about 8:30 a.m. another attack was conducted, this time on a house in the city of Karabilah, 3.7 miles south east of Husaybah, where some of Islam's followers are believed to have fled, the military said. Several terrorists were killed, according to the statement. The military said it wasn't immediately able to provide a casualty toll, adding ``coalition forces take all precautions to minimize collateral damage and prevent the loss of civilian life.'' At least 56 people died, AFP said, citing an Iraqi security official it didn't name. Abu Islam is an alias used by several known Islamists. It isn't clear if civilians are among those killed in the air strikes. Husaybah and Karabilah lie near the city of al-Qaim. The area near the Syrian border in the Euphrates valley has been identified by U.S. military commanders as part of a smuggling route for foreign Islamist fighters entering Iraq. Retiring U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General John Jumper said yesterday that he expects U.S. aircraft to continue attacks on insurgents until Iraq stands up its own air force and that will be after U.S. ground forces withdraw. ``I will continue to see the need for them to require support from the air until they have their own ability to support themselves,'' Jumper told reporters at the Pentagon. ``That's going to take a while even after some future withdrawal of ground forces is required.'' U.S. aircraft fly air-to-ground support missions primarily from permanent U.S. bases in Kuwait and Qatar or from Navy Aircraft Carriers in the Persian Gulf. The missions are organized through the Air Force's command and control center in Qatar. The Air Force and Navy yesterday flew 55 air-to-ground sorties in support of U.S. and Iraqi troops, according to service statistics. ``From the Air Force point of view, we've seen this as a fairly lengthy transition as we turn over military responsibility to the Iraqis, and knowing up front the priority was not going to be to re-build their air force,'' Jumper said.