In the biggest operation of its kind so far in Iraq, 130 men raced up the Euphrates river at 50mph in camouflaged vessels, each boat armed with two machine guns and a grenade launcher.

The stealth craft were used to sneak up on an area infested with insurgents and terrorists on the east bank of the Euphrates - just across the water from the Black Watch's temporary base at Camp Dogwood.

Some of the rockets that have rained down on the Black Watch over the last four weeks are believed to have been fired from the area, which is covered by palm groves and farm land.

There have also been reported sightings of Jordanian terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the same lawless area of north Babil province, some 40 miles south of Baghdad.

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- david | 8:43 PM