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7-month high U.S. troop toll in Iraq

BAGHDAD: The killings of three U.S. soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad pushed the American death toll for April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September 2007.

At least 4,059 U.S. soldiers have died since the Iraq War started in March 2003. “We have said all along that this will be a tough fight and there will be periods where we see these extremists, these criminal groups and Al-Qaeda terrorists seek to reassert themselves,” U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad.

“So, the sacrifice of our troopers, the sacrifice of Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens reflects this challenge,” he said to a question about what’s behind the increase in the deaths. The military said at least 10 gunmen had been killed in three separate clashes in eastern Baghdad late on Tuesday and Wednesday. The latest fighting erupted at the end of March after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shia militias in Basra. But it quickly spread to Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The militia has used the district as a base to fire missiles and mortar rounds at the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses much of the Iraqi government and diplomatic missions. Militiamen have also fought street battles, in which hundreds have been killed.

The military said those killed have been mainly gunmen. But the police and medical authorities in Sadr City said civilians have gotten caught up in the fighting. — AP

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