It also released the identities of the first U.S. Iraq casualties of 2005, a soldier and a Marine.

Spc. Craig L. Nelson, 21, of Bossier City, La., died Dec. 29 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of wounds sustained Dec. 16 in Baghdad when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle. Nelson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment.

Sgt. Damien T. Ficek, 26, of Pullman, Wash., was killed Dec. 30 in Baghdad when his patrol was attacked by small arms fire. Ficek was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jason E. Smith, 21, of Phoenix, Ariz., was killed in unspecified hostile action on Dec. 31. As a matter of policy, the Marines do not provide information about the circumstances of death. Smith died in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, but no more specific location was given.

December's death toll for members of the Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve - at 20 - was among the higher monthly totals since the war began in March 2003. It compared with an average of 15 over the previous five months. Reserves make up nearly half the 151,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Separately, in its weekly report on Iraq casualties, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said it had received nine additional Iraq battle casualties since Dec. 26, including one in critical condition. Eight of the nine were transferred from the U.S. military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and one was transferred from the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

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