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Added Troops Credited For Decline In Deaths

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The Associated Press

Published: October 24, 2007

BAGHDAD - October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and U.S. commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch points to what the military calls 'concerned citizens,' both Shiites and Sunnis, who have joined the U.S. fight.

Lynch, who commands the 3rd Infantry Division and once served as the military spokesman in Baghdad, is a tireless cheerleader of the U.S. effort in Iraq. The death toll over the past two months, however, appears to reinforce his optimism.

As of Tuesday, the Pentagon reported 28 U.S. military deaths in October. That's an average of about 1.2 deaths a day.

The toll on U.S troops hasn't been this low since March 2006, when 31 soldiers died - an average of one death a day.

In September, 65 U.S. troops died in Iraq.

The current pace of civilian deaths would put October at less than 900. The figure last month was 1,023 and for August, 1,956, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.

Also Tuesday, a U.S. helicopter opened fire on men seen planting roadside bombs in a Sunni stronghold north of Baghdad, then chased them into a nearby house and continued to shoot, killing 11 Iraqis, including five women and one child, the military said.

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