A less bloody battleground

tauringhuang.

Aug 4th 2008
From Economist.com

The death toll in Iraq continues to drop


THE death toll of civilians and American soldiers in Iraq has been falling steadily. The “surge” of American troops last year, the growth of the Iraqi army and the Sunni awakening (in which many Sunnis who previously supported insurgents have turned against them) all help to explain why. Last month 13 American soldiers died in Iraq, the lowest level since the invasion in March 2003. The civilian death toll is harder to estimate: it hit 5,000 just over a year ago but dropped to 387 in July, according to the Iraqi authorities (other estimates are a bit higher, at around 500). Although Iraqi security forces are now in command of ten of the country's 18 provinces, an agreement on a timetable for American troop withdrawal and a full military handover to Iraq's own government will take some time yet.