US Army soldier of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division based out of Fort Lewis, Washington search a house during an operation in Sinsel, Diyala province, Iraq on Jan. 7, 2008. Nine US soldiers were killed by militants in the first few days of a major US offensive to clear an al-Qaeda in Iraq stronghold deep in the Diyala River Valley. |