Five Marines Killed in Iraq Border Fight

By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines backed by helicopters battled hundreds of Iraqi insurgents Sunday near the Syrian border, where an ambush killed five Marines. At least 10 Iraqis, including the city police chief, have been killed in two days of fighting, a hospital official said.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces struggled to maintain control of Iraq's highways. The military announced new closures around Baghdad that severed long stretches of roads into the capital from the north, south and west _ a reflection of the damage from a two-week guerrilla onslaught on U.S. supply lines.

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687 American soldiers have died in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist.