Tuesday, May 01, 2007

April U.S. toll among war's worst/Coalition casualties soar in April

April U.S. toll among war's worst
By Robert H. Reid
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press
Published May 1, 2007

BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber struck a crowd of funeral mourners Monday north of Baghdad, taking more than 30 lives at the end of one of the deadliest months of the war so far for U.S. forces. At least 104 American troops were reported killed in April.

The rising toll among Americans pointed to a potentially deadly trend: More troops exposed to more dangers as they try to reclaim control of Baghdad under the joint security plan being implemented by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Bombings and shootings nationwide Monday killed at least 102 people, counting the funeral attack.

Five U.S. military deaths were announced Monday. All but one occurred over the weekend in Iraq's capital, where a nearly 11-week security crackdown has put thousands of additional U.S. soldiers on the streets -- making them targets for both Shiite and Sunni militants.

In a statement, the U.S. command said three American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb Sunday in eastern Baghdad. Another U.S. soldier was killed Saturday by small-arms fire in the same area, it said.

A Marine died in combat Sunday in Anbar province, a Sunni insurgent stronghold west of the capital, the military said.

The 104 U.S. military deaths in April were eight fewer than December's toll of 112, and the sixth-highest figure for a single month since the war started in March 2003.

Last week, the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, warned in Washington that "there is the very real possibility" of intense combat in the months ahead and "therefore, there could be more casualties."

While American casualties are rising, U.S. officials say the Baghdad crackdown has reduced civilian deaths in the capital since the security operation was launched Feb. 14.

But figures compiled by The Associated Press from police reports show a rise in civilian casualties outside the capital, where insurgents took refuge to avoid the Baghdad operation.

Police said 32 people were killed and 63 wounded when the suicide bomber struck the Shiite funeral in Khalis, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. The bomber walked into a tent filled with mourners and detonated a belt of explosives hidden beneath his clothes, police said.

"I saw panicked people running from outside the tent," said a mobile telephone dealer who was walking toward the tent when the bomber struck. "It was the most horrible scene I ever witnessed."

At least 66 other people were killed or found dead nationwide Monday, police reported.

Iraq's Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi discussed threats by Sunni ministers to leave the Shiite-dominated government during a weekend telephone conversation with President Bush, the vice president's office said Monday.

The White House confirmed that Bush called al-Hashimi on Sunday to discuss "the current situation in Iraq" and "the importance of additional steps in the reconciliation process."

In a statement on his Web site, al-Hashimi said the call was made after his Iraqi Accordance Front threatened to quit the Cabinet, where the Sunni bloc controls five posts, including the Defense Ministry.

The Front's departure from the Cabinet could plunge Iraq into a major political crisis because it would mean the end of the fragile unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.



Coalition casualties soar in April
By Steve Negus
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 1 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 1 2007 03:00


The death of four soldiers and an interpreter in Baghdad over the weekend brought US military casualties for April to 104, the highest monthly total this year, writes Steve Negus. In the same period, one Polish and 12 British soldiers died, making April 2007 the fourth most deadly month suffered by coalition forces since the 2003 invasion - and the worst on record for the UK.

Some analysts have suggested that coalition troops are more vulnerable as they move out of their bases on patrols aimed at reclaiming the streets from insurgents and militias as part of the US troop surge.

But insurgent tactics have also evolved, with guerillas making use of trained snipers, ambush tactics against helicopters, and a particularly deadly form of roadside bomb.

Iraq's deadliest Months:
November 2004 --- 141
April 2004-------- 140
January 2005------ 127
April 2007-------- 117
December 2006----115

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