Kilo Marines detaining a suspected IED emplacer in Haqlaniyah, May 2006.

Marines operating in the insurgent-heavy Euphrates Valley have developed a knack for locating improvised explosive devices – seemingly the number one weapon of choice of insurgents in Al Anbar Province. Shortly after the Marines found the IED, military helicopters spotted two more insurgents placing another IED on the same roadway only kilometers away. Both men were detained. Everyday Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrol the volatile streets of Haqlaniyah, a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River Northwest of Baghdad. Here, a suspected insurgent is escorted by a U.S. Marine from the Hawaii-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, from a U.S. military seven-ton truck to a nearby detention facility under suspicion of planting an IED on a roadway traveled by Coalition Forces and Iraqis. The Marines say they are sending out a strong message to insurgents – hostile acts towards Coalition Forces will not be tolerated. Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle