The U.S. military launched a major offensive early Tuesday in a cluster of cities in the Euphrates River valley aimed at insurgents who were using the area as a safe haven and who had killed 20 Marines there in August, The Associated Press reported. It was the second U.S. offensive begun against insurgents in the Anbar region of western Iraq in four days, both coming as the country braces for a national referendum on its new constitution on Oct. 15. Air strikes by U.S. warplanes and dozens of helicopters set off explosions that lit the city skylines of Haqlaniyah, Parwana and Haditha before dawn Tuesday. Barrages of gunfire also were seen in the night sky. Large sections of Haqlaniyah's power were knocked out. Early Tuesday U.S. airstrikes destroyed bridges in Haditha and Haqlaniyah to prevent insurgents from fleeing into the nearby desert, said Lt. Col. Christopher Starling, the operations officer in Regimental Combat Team 2, which is leading the offensive. --SP 1248 Local Time 0948 GMT
