July military death toll in Iraq reaches 80
Pastor Dale Morgan
July military death toll in Iraq reaches 80*
Reuters
Thursday, August 2, 2007; 10:56 AM
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers in the division operating south of
Baghdad were killed and 10 wounded in an attack on Tuesday, the military
said on Thursday.
The attack on the last day of July -- described as indirect fire, which
refers to rockets or mortars -- brings the total of U.S. troops killed
that month to 80. July was the least deadly month for U.S. forces since
last November.
The U.S. military has hailed the reduction in deaths among its forces as
a sign that this year's strategy of sending additional troops to Iraq
and spreading them into neighborhoods in Baghdad and other cities is
improving security.
In each of the last three months, the death toll among U.S. troops was
more than 100, making the April-June period the deadliest quarter-year
of the war. Eighty-one U.S. service members were killed in March.
However, Iraqi government figures released on Wednesday showed a sharp
rise in the number of Iraqi civilians killed in July to 1,653 from 1,227
in June.
The July figure of civilian deaths was in line with previous months this
year after June had seen deaths fall by more than a third.