U.S. and Iraqi forces wrapped up their joint operation "Steel Curtain" on Sunday, with 136 suspected insurgents dead, DPA reported. A high-ranking Iraqi Defence Ministry official, Abdelaziz Mohamed, announced the end of the Steel Curtain campaign in the western province of Anbar, said that 10 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the operation and 57 wounded. A total of 256 suspected insurgents were taken into custody while 47 weapons caches and 123 bombs were seized, he said. Mohammed said that the operation had secured areas along the Euphrates River Valley, thereby making it safe for residents to participate in parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-December. Steel Curtain, which began November 5, drew on 2,500 U.S. troops and 1,000 from the Iraqi side.
