Body Count in Iraq

July 2008

US Deaths in Afghanistan Hit Record

newser | New York Times | Jul 2, 08 7:54 AM CDT

More troops from the United States and coalition countries died in Afghanistan last month than at any other time since the 2001 invasion. For the second month in a row, deaths among American-led forces were higher in Afghanistan, where 46 servicemen died, than in Iraq, where 31 were killed. The greater death toll in Afghanistan comes despite a significantly increased NATO military presence there, reports the New York Times . More »

June 2008

Sadr City Bomb Kills 4 Americans

newser | Los Angeles Times | Jun 24, 08 8:23 AM CDT

Two US troops and two US government employees were killed today during a suicide bombing at a local council building in Baghdad's Sadr City, the LA Times reports. The blast, the second this week that targeted Americans meeting with local officials, also claimed the lives of two Iraqis and wounded several others. Yesterday a gunman killed two US soldiers as they left a municipal building about 15 miles from the capital. More »
Hero Soldier's Parents Accept Medal of Honor

newser | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Jun 2, 08 1:41 PM CDT

Ross McGinnis, a 19-year-old private who sacrificed his life in Iraq, was awarded the Medal of Honor today in a White House ceremony. Rather than fleeing a grenade an insurgent threw at his Humvee, McGinnis dived on it, saving four other soldiers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. His son "had no thought of medals," McGinnis' father, Tom, told the Army Times. More »
May Iraq Death Toll Lowest in 4 Years

newser | Associated Press | Jun 1, 08 8:05 AM CDT

The death toll in Iraq plunged in May, with 21 US military dead the lowest monthly figure in more than 4 years. Iraqi civilians and troopers also saw a decline, with 532 deaths in May, compared with 1,080 the month before. But in the absence of lasting political agreements, many fear this signals a breathing spell in violence rather than the start of a longer trend. More »

May 2008

'Miracle Marine' Dead After 3-Year Struggle

newser | Associated Press | May 25, 08 4:00 PM CDT

A Marine who endured burns on 97% of his body with good humor and hope has died during routine surgery, USA Today reports. Hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Sgt. Merlin German walked, talked, and even danced during his 3-year recovery. Undergoing more than 100 surgeries, he became a symbol of resilience and started a charity for burned kids called "Merlin's Miracles." More »
Iraq's First Lady Survives Attack on Motorcade

newser | Associated Press | May 4, 08 10:44 AM CDT

The wife of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani escaped injury after a roadside bomb hit her motorcade in Baghdad this morning. Hiro Ahmed Ibrahim was on her way to a cultural festival when the blast hit, injuring four of the first lady's bodyguards. It is unclear whether the attack was random or she was targeted, AP reports. More »
Bombs Kill Dozens in Iraq

newser | Associated Press | May 1, 08 4:52 PM CDT

As US forces engaged in heavy fighting in the Mahdi Army's Sadr City today, bombings in Baghdad and Diyala province took the lives of as many as 45 Iraqis and one US soldier, the AP reports. The Diyala bombing, in Balad Ruz, was carried out by two suicide bombers—one of them a woman—during a wedding celebration. More »

April 2008

Soldier Laid to Rest After 4 Years

newser | Cincinnati Enquirer | Apr 28, 08 10:27 AM CDT

Thousands attended emotional memorial services over the weekend for an Ohio Army reservist whose remains made the journey home 4 years after he was captured in Iraq. Ten thousand filed past Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin's casket, and 3,000 attended a ceremony at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati yesterday, before a private ceremony in which he was buried next to five others killed in Iraq. More »
19 Yanks Die in Worst Week of Year for US

newser | Associated Press | Apr 13, 08 5:24 AM CDT

The death of a US soldier in a roadside blast in Baghdad yesterday brought the death toll for US troops to 19 in a single week—the highest so far this year. Almost all of the deaths have been in the Iraqi capital, where US and Iraqi forces are battling the Mahdi Army. Troops are also fighting Sunni insurgents in northern Iraq, AP reports. More »
SEAL's Sacrifice Wins Medal of Honor

newser | Navy Times | Apr 8, 08 5:14 PM CDT

A Navy SEAL who dove on a live grenade to save comrades' lives in Iraq received the Medal of Honor today, the Navy Times reports. Michael Monsoor's parents, George and Sally, received the nation's highest combat honor from President Bush, who wept during the ceremony. Monsoor, 25, died Sept. 29, 2006, as US forces tried to take Ramadi from insurgents. More »
Baghdad Rockets Kill 3 US Soldiers, Wound 31

newser | CNN | Apr 6, 08 5:18 PM CDT

Battles erupted in Baghdad today as rocket attacks killed three US soldiers and wounded 31, CNN reports. The first strike killed one and wounded 14 at a military outpost; “a couple of rounds of fire” killed two more and wounded 17 in the Green Zone soon after, a military official said. Earlier, US troops fought cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, killing at least 20 and wounding 52 in Baghdad, the AFP reports. More »

March 2008

Iran Played Key Role in al-Sadr Ceasefire

newser | CNN | Mar 31, 08 6:58 PM CDT

Iran played a key role in convincing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to call a ceasefire in Basra yesterday, CNN reports. Iraqi lawmakers from five Shiite parties traveled to Iran on Friday to meet with al-Sadr, and returned yesterday, right before al-Sadr's injunction to halt violence in Basra, an Iraqi official said. More »
Al-Sadr Orders His Militia Off Streets of Basra

newser | BBC | Mar 30, 08 5:15 PM CDT

Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to leave the streets of Basra and other cities, reports the BBC, in an effort to end clashes with security forces. “Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us,” Sadr said, but minutes after his statement was released, militia shells hit Basra’s palace, and attacks on the Green Zone persisted throughout the day. More »
Bush: 4,000 US Lives 'Were Not Lost in Vain'

newser | CNN | Mar 24, 08 7:29 PM CDT

President Bush sympathizes with the families of 4,000 Americans slain in Iraq, he said today. They "were not lost in vain. One day, people will look back at this moment in history and say, 'Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve,'" CNN reports. In an ABC interview, Dick Cheney said Bush's "burden" in the war is even greater than that of grieving American families. More »
FBI Recovers 2 US Contractors in Iraq

newser | Associated Press | Mar 24, 08 6:28 PM CDT

The FBI said today it has the bodies of two US contractors who were kidnapped in Iraq, the AP reports. John Roy Young, a security worker, and Ronald Withrow, employed by an IT firm, were two of six contractors kidnapped in Iraq over the past 2 years. Journalists shone attention on the missing Americans last month after their severed fingers were sent to US commanders in Iraq. More »
US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000

newser | Associated Press | Mar 24, 08 4:30 AM CDT

A roadside bomb yesterday killed 4 US servicemen, hiking the American death toll in the Iraq war to at least 4,000, AP reports. Another soldier was wounded in the blast, which came less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the war. At least 61 other people died in attacks across Iraq, including a day-long bombardment of the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. More »
Easter Bombings in Iraq Kill at Least 57

newser | Associated Press | Mar 23, 08 6:49 PM CDT

Despite a yearlong decline in violence in Iraq, a series of attacks on Easter Sunday killed at least 57, reports the AP. In the most severe, a suicide car bomber killed at least 13 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 42 people at a military base in Mosul, an al-Qaeda holdout. A second suicide car bombing killed 7 and wounded 14 in Baghdad, while a series of explosions rattled the Green Zone. More »
US Air Strike Kills 6 Sunni Allies

newser | CNN | Mar 22, 08 2:50 PM CDT

US helicopters opened fire on two checkpoints manned by a pro-American group today, killing six members of the Sons of Iraq and injuring two civilians. The attack could exacerbate already strained tensions between the US and the Awakening Councils it employs, CNN reports. The US said that its helicopter opened fire after it spotted five people “conducting suspicious terrorist activity.” More »
Numbers Tell the Tale in Iraq

newser | USA Today | Mar 21, 08 2:01 PM CDT

As US troop losses in Iraq near 4,000, USA Today profiles the dead: 98% were male, and the most common age among those killed was 21—but one in six was younger. The bloodiest day was Jan. 26, 2005, when a helicopter crash killed 31 and six died in combat; the bloodiest month was November 2004, which saw 137 deaths. More »
Iraqi Death Toll Uncountable

newser | Guardian (UK) | Mar 19, 08 10:49 AM CDT

"We don't do body counts," an American general notoriously said not long after the US-led invasion of Iraq. Five years later, there is no credible count of civilian deaths in the Iraq war, the Guardian reports in a look at the wildly different estimates that have been promoted—ranging from under 100,000 to well over a million—and how they're put together. More »