Marines battle the elements while facing insurgents and improvised explosiv [Image 3 of 9]

AL QA'IM, IRAQ

06.20.2006

Photo by Spc. Antonio Rosas 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

U.S. Marines take a break from conducting security operations near an Iraqi-Syrian border town June 20, 2006. The Marines, part of the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, patrol the region daily to provide security to local towns and villages along the Euphrates River in Iraq's western Al Anbar Province. The southern California-based battalion faces everything from occasional mortar attacks and roadside bombs to temperatures well in the 100s in Iraq. Greeted by locals everywhere they go near this region in western Al Anbar Province, the Marines are usually swarmed by children, who ask the uniformed men for candy, toys and soccer balls. Still, Marines say the friendly atmosphere the locals provide simply masks the fact that this is still a dangerous area. Just several weeks ago, a team of Marines killed an insurgent who was planting roadside bombs on one of the main roadways in broad daylight. The battalion arrived in Iraq in March and will be replaced by another southern California-based Marine Corps unit in the Fall. (Photo by Cpl. Antonio Rosas)

• Date Taken: 06.20.2006
• Date Posted: 07.06.2006 11:47
• Photo ID: 25197
• Resolution: 800x1200
• Size: 254.58 KB
• Location: AL QA'IM, IQ