US and Iraqi troops carried on their fresh phase of a major offensive Operation Steel Curtain designed to uproot insurgents and establish a permanent security presence along the Syrian border, the US military said on Tuesday.

Early on Monday, US and Iraqi soldiers, in the latest phase of their operation, overran Ubaydi town, some 20 km from the Syrian border on the banks of Euphrates River.

"Approximately 50 terrorists are estimated to have been killed in sporadic but heavy fighting," the US military said in a statement.

The combined Iraqi-US force has "encountered at least six mines and improvised bombs while clearing Ubaydi, including a home booby- trapped with explosives," added the statement.

The statement said that the troops have cleared the nearby towns of Husaybah and Karabilah in earlier phases of the operation and permanent Iraqi-US presence has been established.

About 3,500 US and Iraqi soldiers participated in the Operation Steel Curtain, which began on Nov. 5, in the western al-Anbar province, according to the US military.

Source: Xinhua