综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

WORLD> America
US toll in Iraq hits all-time low as month ends
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-01 09:43

BAGHDAD - The monthly US toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with 11 American deaths as July drew to a close Thursday after the departure of the last surge brigade.

Iraqis also are dying at dramatically lower numbers with the war in its sixth year. July saw the lowest civilian toll since December 2005, though a series of suicide bombings this week and rising ethnic tensions in northern Iraq reflect the fragility of the security successes.


A man prepares fish in a traditional Iraqi way outside a restaurant in west Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 31, 2008. [Agencies] 

An Associated Press tally shows at least 510 Iraqi civilians and security force members were killed in July, a 75 percent drop from the 2,021 deaths in the same period last year as the US troop buildup aimed at quelling rampant Sunni-Shiite violence was nearing its peak.

The drastic decline in violence over the past year has led to increasing optimism among American commanders, who have been wary of declaring success after past lulls proved short-lived. It also has become a key issue in the US presidential campaign.

"The progress is still reversible," US President Bush said Thursday in Washington. But he said a new "degree of durability in gains" should permit him to announce further US troop reductions later this year.

The last of five combat brigades sent as part of the so-called surge returned home in July, leaving about 145,000 US troops in Iraq. That is still higher than the roughly 130,000-135,000 who were here before the troop increase.

But the American soldiers appear to be taking on more of a peacekeeping role after many Sunni and Shiite extremists agreed to stop fighting.

The US military has pointed to a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and a truce by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as playing a large part in the drop in violence, along with the troop buildup and improvements in training Iraqi security forces.

Baghdad -- the site of the some of the worst sectarian violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war -- has been turned into a maze of concrete walls and checkpoints that make it difficult for militants to function.

"The key mission for the United States looking forward is to maintain the cease-fires and prevent people from going back to the warpath," said Stephen Biddle, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations who has advised the US military command in Iraq.

"Their purpose in Iraq is increasingly changing from fighting a war to keeping a peace," he added in a telephone interview.

Altogether, 11 American fatalities were recorded in July, including six from non-hostile causes. The bodies of two American soldiers missing after an attack last year were also found. There were 29 deaths in June. By contrast, July 2007 saw 80 deaths, according to AP figures.

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page  
顺义区| 油尖旺区| 田林县| 蒙自县| 英吉沙县| 海安县| 井冈山市| 灵寿县| 和平县| 抚远县| 施秉县| 东城区| 赤城县| 福鼎市| 芜湖市| 北流市| 湘乡市| 梧州市| 赤壁市| 乌兰察布市| 吉林省| 噶尔县| 沙坪坝区| 莱西市| 吉木萨尔县| 绍兴市| 家居| 西盟| 金坛市| 鄂州市| 南岸区| 曲松县| 镇坪县| 扎囊县| 云浮市| 周口市| 山丹县| 松原市| 霍山县| 宜章县| 游戏|