Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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December 31, 2007

US Military Toll in Iraq Higher in 2007
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AC1C70:A6F02AD83191E160FDB6BB66BC96F64D3CF5CDEF8FC051DA& In 2007, 899
American servicemen and women were killed in Iraq,  bringing total to
3,902 service members since 2003 invasion 





U.S. Army soldiers carry the flag-draped coffin of fellow Army Staff
Sgt. Ricardo Rodriguez, in Carolina, Puerto Rico (File Photo)More U.S.
troops were killed in Iraq in 2007 than any year since the 2003
invasion of the country, although violence dropped off sharply in the
second half of the year.

The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq peaked in May with 126
troops killed, and then declined to 21 deaths in December, the second
lowest monthly total of the war.

Iraqi civilian deaths have tracked the decline. U.S. commanders say
overall attacks in Iraq are down about 60 percent since June.

For the year as a whole, 899 American servicemen and women were killed
in Iraq, surpassing the previous high of 850 in 2004. The military
reports 3,902 service members have died since the 2003 invasion of
Iraq.

In the latest violence, a suicide bomber exploded a truck Monday at a
checkpoint north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people and leaving
two missing.

Iraqi officials say most of those killed in the attack in the town of
Tarmiya were members of a U.S.-backed security volunteer group. They
say the dead also include schoolchildren.

In a separate incident Monday, Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb
struck an Iraqi army patrol near the Iranian border in Diyala
province, killing at least two soldiers and wounding two others. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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