April Deadliest This Year for GIs in Iraq

[brooklynite]

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An American soldier was killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Friday, making April the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq this year.

Also Friday, American troops, acting on tips from Iraqi intelligence, killed the reputed al-Qaida boss of Samarra, where a Shiite shrine bombing two months ago nearly plunged the country into civil war.

The latest American death, which occurred Thursday evening, brought the number of U.S. troops who have died this month in Iraq to at least 67.

Although that figure is well below some of the bloodiest months of the Iraq conflict, it marks a sharp increase over March, when 31 American service members were killed. January's death toll stood at 62 and February's at 55. In December 2005, 68 Americans died.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060428/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060428172632

[wtmusic]

1. How many throes do we have left? nt

:grr:

[Nickster]

2. How many more times can I hear the phrase, "deadliest month yet" n/t

[deutsey]

3. Minor speed bump on the road to victory.

:puke:

[sabra]

4. Death Toll for Americans in Iraq Is Highest in 5 Months

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Death Toll for Americans in Iraq Is Highest in 5 Months

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 28 — The military announced the death of one American soldier on Friday, bringing the death toll so far in April to 69, the highest in five months. The monthly figure disrupted a trend of steadily falling American fatalities that had begun in November.

The bulk of American deaths in April occurred in Baghdad and in the insurgent-controlled western province of Anbar, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent group that compiles casualty figures based on information provided by the American military.

Deaths in April could still climb, but are not likely to top the 84 American deaths in November. The April figure is more than double the 31 troops killed in March, one of the lowest monthly tolls of the war, according to the group's statistics.

Though American deaths have fluctuated since the invasion in 2003, they had been falling since November, when the toll fell to 84 from 96 the previous month.

[Maddy McCall]

5. k/r

:(

[dweller]

6. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2595900


:patriot:

dp

[Roland99]

7. Monthly death tolls (US military, Iraqi military, Iraqi civilian)

Numbers from http://icasualties.org