Death Toll in Iraq Plummets

The death toll for American soldiers in Iraq dived to single-digits last month with only nine soldiers killed, marking the lowest number of casualties since the invasion in 2003. In the war’s worst month, November 2004, 137 U.S. troops were killed as the army attempted to occupy Fallujah. The drop in fatalities suggests the success of the military “surge” strategy. When the surge was just beginning, in spring 2007, 330 troops died in three months. But since then the monthly death toll has dropped dramatically. Since the start of the war, 4,263 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq.