BAGHDAD, Oct. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- US troops killed eight suspected insurgents in western Iraq while conducting a major offensive onvillages scattered near the Syrian border, the US military said on Sunday.

    About 1,000 US troops, backed by helicopters, launched on Saturday a major offensive dubbed Operation Iron Fist to eradicate insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq.

    "Coalition Forces, including helicopters from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, engaged and killed eight armed terrorists in fighting early in the day Oct. 1," the military said in a statement.

    "The offensive is intended to deny Al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists the ability to operate freely in the Euphrates River Valley and to prevent the terrorists from influencing the local population through murder and intimidation," the statement said.

    US and Iraqi troops previously launched several offensives against insurgents in towns and villages scattered in the Euphrates River Valley in the western Anbar province, believed to be an insurgent stronghold. Enditem