US Death Toll in Iraq Plummets

Iraqi crackdown, US strikes helped

(NEWSER) - As the US approaches its end-of-year deadline for withdrawing all troops from Iraq, August saw a milestone: It was the first month since the US-led invasion began in March 2003 that saw no American military deaths. The previous record was one soldier death in December 2010, and a military spokesperson notes that there have been two other months that saw no hostile deaths—but did see at least one non-combat death, “which includes accidents or illness,” she tells AFP . Since the invasion began, 4,474 American troops have died. More»

(NEWSER) - The imminent withdrawal of US troops and the lack of funds to keep Sunni Awakening members on the payroll has led to rising violence there, the Wall Street Journal reports. The steep decline in oil revenues has left the Iraqi government broke, and former insurgents hired by the US to provide security and do clean-up and rebuilding haven’t been paid in months. Their ranks are thinning. “Who knows what they're doing with their time,” one leader said. More»

(NEWSER) - The recent spate of violence in Iraq may pale in comparison to the relentless suicide bombings of 2006, but Baghdad is beginning to hunker down in fear again, the Los Angeles Times reports. Residents are curtailing their public activities, checking in with each other more often to make sure family members are okay, and worrying about the imminent withdrawal of US troops. More»

Journalists complain war is being sanitized

(NEWSER) - Over 4,000 US troops have died in Iraq but only a handful of photographs of dead Americans have reached the media, the New York Times reports. Military regulations do not forbid taking photographs of casualties, but access to death sites is often denied. Photographers who do publish grim images often find their access to military units swiftly terminated. More»

Military expects further rise in casualties

(NEWSER) - This has been the first year since the Iraq war began that more Americans troops were killed in Afghanistan than Iraq, and next year is expected to be even worse. Some 319 American troops have died in Afghanistan this year, compared with 148 for Iraq, USA Today reports. More»