
Five Marines were killed and 11 were wounded this morning while they searched a house on the outskirts of this town in western Anbar Province, officials said. It was the deadliest day for American troops since beginning a wide sweep of several towns along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border on Nov. 5.
According to several Marines who were briefed on the events, a squad had just entered a farmhouse in northern Ubaydi when a huge explosion occurred, possibly caused by a booby-trapped homemade bomb that insurgents had planted. According to a Marine officer who spoke with survivors, the squad was then attacked with small arms fire and grenades by insurgents hiding in the
house.