Number of Casualtiesin Iraq on the Decline

The number of dead American soldiers and civilians in Iraq has been reduced.

Baghdad–Iraqi government statistics showed that the number of civilians killed in Iraq last month fell to less than a half and reached 359 people, compared with the same month last year. The number of casualties among US troops also reduced sharply. According to statistics published by the independent website that is monitoring amount of death among US soldiers in Iraq, the number of Americans killed during the fighting fell to eight in September, compared with 12 in previous month and 43 in September last year.

The violence has subsided in Iraq in recent months to its lowest level in nearly four years, but insurgents are still able to carry out major attacks. Last month, a series of bombings targeted civilians shopping before breakfast in the month of Ramadan.

US military officials say that in northern Iraq, Al-Qaeda militants are waging active attacks almost every day. But the number of civilian deaths in September, which reached 359, is still less compared to 382 in August. Around 884 Iraqi civilians died in September last year. The US Department of Defense will withdraw 8,000 troops from Iraq by February, reducing the number of troops deployed there to 138,000.

According to data compiled by Reuters, since the US-led invasion in 2003, around 4,175 US soldiers were killed in Iraq and neighboring areas where troops are stationed. According to the website that tracks casualties among Iraqi civilians, which is run by academics and peace activists, almost 95,954 Iraqi civilians were killed in Iraq based on media reports.