Mounting US casualties in Iraq
There have been 1,055 American soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003 up to October 4 this year, according to the Pentagon. There have also been 7,245 wounded as of September 15.
The figures do not include up to 16,765 soldiers who have been evacuated due to various illnesses. The Pentagon does not report these cases as casualties, claiming that their ailments were not directly combat-related. They include 5,375 soldiers suffering from psychological disorders. A military study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in July revealed that up to 16% of soldiers returning from Iraq may suffer from major depression, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological illnesses.
By August, the average number of attacks on US forces daily had grown to 87�the highest figure since US President George W. Bush announced the end of the war in Iraq in May 2003. Since July, these attacks have been occurring over a wider territory.
In September, Iraqi guerrillas launched a series of bombings and ambushes, including a suicide bombing in the middle of that month that targeted two vehicles carrying American soldiers. Seven American troops were killed.
As an indication of their desperation, American soldiers have been launching ferocious attacks in the cities of Fallujah, Ar Ramadi, Baqubah and Samarrah, which are widely regarded as bastions of Iraqi guerrillas.
In Fallujah, at least 11 people were killed in two air strikes by American troops on October 4. The first strike killed nine people, including three women and four children, and wounded 12 people, including six women and three children. Two other people were killed in the second strike.
In Samarrah, 70 people have already died since intense fighting broke out on October 3. Many of those killed were ordinary civilians. Twenty-three of them were children and 18 were women.
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