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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5516635,00.html
U.S. Forces Reduce Flow of Al-Qaeda Insurgents from Syria to Iraq
(AP/Guardian-UK) Kim Gamel - Recent offensives near the Iraqi border with Syria have dealt a significant blow to al-Qaeda and cut off the group's ability to smuggle in foreigners to join the insurgency, Maj.-Gen. Steve Johnson, commander of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, said on Sunday. He said the operations had "neutralized" the group's ability to use the vast Euphrates River valley to organize and attract followers. "There's been a significant decrease in the smuggling of fighters from Syria," he said. Johnson said a largely local insurgency persisted in western Iraq, although they sometimes worked with al-Qaeda and other rogue elements.