5 US Marines killed in Iraq
Foreign Desk Report

BAGHDAD—Five US marines were killed in Iraq on Wednesday during a firefight near the Syrian border in Ubaydi, the military said. Sixteen insurgents were also killed in the fighting, part of Operation Steel Curtain, a US-Iraqi military offensive aimed at clearing insurgents out of towns in northwestern Iraq. The announcement brought the number of US troops killed in the Iraq war to 2,078, according to U.S. military reports. Operation Steel Curtain was launched in Husayba on November 5 and forces have also been deployed into parts of the nearby city of Karabila. Husayba had become a command and control center for insurgents and foreign fighters, the military has said. News of the American casualties came as a prominent Sunni Muslim party called for an international investigation into allegations that detainees were being tortured in an Iraqi Ministry compound. The facility allegedly held more than 160 detainees — some who showed signs of apparent torture. The Iraqi Islamic Party, which helped broker the deal that brought a national constitution to a national referendum in October, said Wednesday the detainees were mostly Sunnis and the human rights violations at the compound were part of a campaign to marginalize Sunnis ahead of another nationwide vote next month.