BAGHDAD, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- US marines and Iraqi soldiers have launched a new offensive against insurgents near the flash point city of Fallujah west of Baghdad, the US military said on Saturday.

    The Operation Scimitar started on July 7 in Zaidan area, some 30 km southeast of Fallujah, where approximately 100 Iraqi soldiers and 500 US soldiers from the 2nd Marine division forces conducted security operations which resulted in detaining 22 suspected insurgents, the US military said in a statement.

    It was the fifth joint operation launched by the US and Iraqi forces in the restive western Anbar province during the past two months in an attempt to curb violent activities.

    The latest Operation Scimitar came after Operations Spear, Dagger and Sword, and a minor one named Operation Muthana Strike. Fallujah, some 65 km west of Baghdad, has been a bastion of insurgency against the US and the Iraqi governmental forces until it was taken over by a major US offensive in November 2004. Enditem