U.S .Troop Casualties in Iraq Rise Sharply

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International Herald Tribune | By Kirk Semple | October 17, 2006

Two marines were killed by insurgents in Anbar Province, the U.S. military command said, and three American soldiers died a day earlier in a bombing in southern Baghdad, bringing the total of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq this month to at least 53, an extraordinarily high midmonth tally.

At the current rate of U.S. troop deaths, almost four a day, October is on track to be the third-deadliest month of the entire conflict for the U.S. military, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent Web site that tracks war-related casualties. The two worst months coincided with major U.S. offensives against entrenched guerrilla fighters.

The rise now, in spite of improvements in body armor and vehicle armor, has followed a decision by commanders to increase the number of U.S. troops in Baghdad, in an effort to quell the sectarian violence that has engulfed the city.

Attacks continued against Iraqi government and civilian targets Sunday. A series of seven bombings within a few hours struck in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 17 people and wounding at least 73, according to police officials.

Major General William Caldwell, a senior military spokesman here, directly attributed the rise in American deaths to the new security strategy.

"We are out, more aggressively engaged in the city, at this point than we were just a month ago," he said at a news conference Thursday. "Coalition forces are being much more active in going out and looking for these folks, these death squads and elements that are associated with the sectarian violence."

According to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, which collates statistics distributed in Pentagon news releases, the number of American deaths in Baghdad has sharply increased since the U.S.-led crackdown began in early August.

That month, 20 U.S. troops died in or near the capital, up from 12 in July and 15 in June. The number rose again last month, to 29.

The number of troops wounded in action, a figure that usually parallels the number of fatalities, has also seen a drastic rise. From Sept. 28 to Oct. 11, 427 U.S. troops were wounded, one of the worst two-week periods of the war, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. In all of September, 776 U.S. troops were wounded, the fourth-highest monthly total since the U.S. invasion, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.

As fighting has risen to new levels in the capital, it has also continued unabated Sunday in Anbar Province, the stronghold of the Sunni Arab insurgency. At least 21 Americans have died there this month, and 60 have died over the past two months. At the same time, forces in the region have been stretched as more troops have been sent to Baghdad.

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