US death toll in Iraq tops 4,101

Source: alalam.ir, 17-06-2008

BAGHDAD-A US trooper has been killed in a roadside bomb attack in central Iraq increasing the number of US military deaths to 4101 since the US-led invasion of the country in March 2003, the military said Tuesday.

The military said in a statement that the trooper was killed near the city of Hilla in the province of Babil on Monday.

The latest fatality takes the US military's overall losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 4,101, according to independent website www.icasualties.org.

The highest number of deaths of US troops in a single month was in November 2004, when 137 troops were killed.

The death brings to 14, the total number of the US troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of June.

Meanwhile, in a statement released on Friday, the US military said that a US trooper was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Thursday and a US Marine died in a noncombat-related incident on Wednesday elsewhere in Iraq.

In May this year, 19 US troops were killed.

The news about the latest US military casualties in Iraq came as the US embassy in Iraq claimed that it is not looking to establish permanent military bases in the country.

The embassy released a statement on Friday saying that the deal that Washington is currently negotiating with the Iraqi government was not aimed at securing long-term deployment of the troops.

The embassy said that current talks are instead meant to lay the ground for America's role after the UN mandate expires at the end of this year.

The US ambassador Ryan Crocker said that the accord is aimed only to define the US presence after 2008 and to create the basis for political, economic and cultural cooperation.

On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denied that Baghdad and Washington are negotiating a pact for the military presence after 2008, speaking instead of a simple exchange of ideas on bilateral cooperation.