US troops launch insurgent offensive 

US and Iraqi troops backed by American fighter planes have attacked rebels in western Iraq, launching the latest in a series of offensives against insurgents in the volatile Euphrates river valley since May.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari travelled to the sacred Shi'ite city of Najaf to consult with the nation's top Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on the new constitution, which is due to be presented to parliament in 10 days.

Sistani's support may determine the success of the document.

The military operation, dubbed Quick Strike, comes two days after 14 US Marines were killed in a roadside bomb blast near the western town of Haditha, one of the deadliest attacks against US forces since the war began.

The blast, which brought the number of US troops to have died in Iraq to 1,820, has raised questions about whether Washington has underestimated the strength of the insurgency. More than 20 US troops have died in western Iraq this month.

The new offensive, involving 1,000 troops, began on Aug. 3 and is focused on the Haditha area, but was not launched in response to the roadside bomb attack, a military spokesman said.

"The objectives are to interdict and disrupt the insurgents and foreign terrorists in Haditha, Haqlaniya and the Barwanah area," Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan said.

On the first day of the operation in Haditha, the US military said troops conducting searches discovered two adjacent buildings rigged with explosives.

"The wires were connected to numerous 155mm artillery rounds scattered throughout both buildings," the military said in a statement, adding the buildings were later destroyed.

The Euphrates valley, which runs northwest from Baghdad to the Syrian border, has become one of the most violent regions of the country and a heartland of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.

US commanders say the valley, thick with palm groves, riverside marshes and old settlements, is a conduit for insurgents and weapons entering Iraq from Syria. Its topography makes it difficult for conventional forces to operate.

Beginning in May, the Marines have launched successive offensives in the area, including in towns along the border and villages near Haditha, but guerrilla attacks have persisted.

Often, when US forces arrive in a suspected insurgent stronghold they discover that fighters have melted away. Once US troops leave, the fighters return, residents say.

Hospital sources in Haditha said at least three Iraqis had died in fighting on Friday. There was no word on any US military casualties.

Meeting with Sistani

Jaafari's meeting with Sistani at the cleric's home in Najaf comes at a crucial time in Iraq's political process. A draft of the constitution is due by August 15, but widespread differences remain among the group charged with writing it.

Jaafari, a devout Shi'ite, spent several hours discussing the charter with Sistani, a reclusive scholar who is revered by a large portion of Iraq's 60 percent Shi'ite majority.

While the cleric is not part of the committee writing the constitution, his views are extremely influential and his support could determine how the document is received.

"Sistani emphasised ... that the constitution should reflect the different components of the Iraqi people, and it should express with sincerity and truth their sectarian, ethnic and political make-up," Jaafari told reporters after the meeting.

"He insisted on the respect of law and that the law must prevail in Iraqi political life, with no differentiation among people, whatever their position in the state."

Political leaders were due to meet in Baghdad on Friday to ease differences that remain over the wording of the document.

However, the meeting was postponed until Sunday after some delegates said they could not make it.

Several major and some minor sticking points remain among the 71 members of the drafting committee, with the issues splitting them along sectarian and ethnic lines.

The biggest problem is federalism, and how resources should be divided in a federal state. Kurds, who have had broad autonomy in north Iraq for 14 years, want a strict definition.

Shi'ites generally like the concept, but want a looser interpretation. Many Sunni Arabs are opposed to it.

The role of Islam, which has been a point of contention among constitution drafters in recent weeks, appears to have been resolved, with some saying it will now be referred to as "a main source" of law, rather than "the main source".

Asked about that issue, Jaafari said Sistani told him that nothing should contradict Islamic sharia law.

The British general commanding multinational troops in southeastern Iraq, Maj. Gen. J.B. Dutton, said on Friday worries about the influence in Iraq of neighbouring Shi'ite Iran appeared to be based on speculation rather than facts.