Iraq closed its border with Syria yesterday to stop what it calls foreign fighters entering the country, as a US-backed military operation to wipe out suspected terrorists in the city of Tal Afar continued.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said yesterday he was also imposing an overnight curfew in the northwestern region of Rabiah, on the main road from the Syrian border to the northern city of Mosul, near Tal Afar.

Thousands of Iraqi troops backed by US forces launched an attack on rebels in Tal Afar starting at 2:00 AM on Saturday (22:00 GMT on Friday). Defence Minister Saadoun Dulaimi said that after the assault, government forces were ready to strike insurgents in four other northwestern towns.

US and Iraqi forces have long said Tal Afar was being used as a conduit for equipment and foreign Sunni Arab fighters smuggled in from Syria to fight the Shi'ite and Kurdish-led Iraqi Government and occupying US forces across the country.

Dulaimi said troops killed 141 insurgents and captured 197 on Friday and Saturday in Tal Afar, adding that all but three of 17 battalions - several thousand troops - involved were Iraqi.

The government has played up the lead role taken by Iraqi forces in the Tal Afar assault, keen to show that its fledgling US-trained army is capable of carrying out such an operation. Previously such assaults have been led by US troops.

US officials say that 115 Iraqi battalions consisting of over 190,000 troops are now battle-ready after training by the US military.

"Iraqi forces entered all sectors of the city in 11 operations, but they are still engaging in Hay al-Sarai district," an Iraqi defence ministry official said yesterday, citing a military report covering the period 8:00 AM (04:00 GMT) on Saturday to 8:00 AM yesterday.

He added that Iraqi forces had killed three insurgents and arrested eight during that 24-hour period. He did not give their nationalities.

In its own statement, the US military said Iraqi and US-led forces had captured 211 terror suspects, killed 141 terrorists and confiscated nine weapons caches, but made clear the figures dated back to August 26.

Residents reported US air strikes early on Saturday, gunfire and an encirclement of US armor in parts of the town as Jaafari announced an offensive had begun.

But military operations were hampered later on Saturday by a sandstorm.

An Iraqi official said that after the assault on Tal Afar, government forces were ready to strike insurgents in four other towns, Ramadi, Samarra, Rawa and Qaim, without saying when the attacks may start.

(China Daily September 12, 2005)