"We have faced an enemy who do not want to fight us force-on-force, rather they wanted to lay improvised explosive devices to halt us in our path and this summer total of 1,800 Improvised explosive devices laid in our path, so we have had to adapt quickly."

VOA: standard.2009.10.12

The month's figures also lay 1.9% below the 529, 000 housing starts in October 2009.

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DuPont missed the consensus call for profit and revenue, cut its guidance and said it will lay off 1, 500 workers around the world.

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The rich oil fields of the Caspian Sea lay over 1, 800 miles to the west, while there were unstable neighbours less than a couple of miles to the south.

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