BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has reported the lowest casualty rate in
Iraq in nearly two years.
Officials said the casualty rate in Iraq dropped significantly in
January 2006. They said that for most of the month, the casualty rate was
the lowest since early 2004.
"In January, there were 19 days where the number of casualties were
lower than 50," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition,
said. "And that's the lowest rate we've seen since the spring of '04."
Lynch told a briefing on Feb. 2 that total casualty figures — civilian
and military — reached 1,600 in January, Middle East Newsline reported. The figure was 1,000 fewer than
the average over the previous three months and less than half of the attacks
recorded in May 2004.
"You can see a significant trend line down in the number of casualties:
coalition, civilian and Iraqi security force casualties," Lynch said. "If
you work the numbers you realize that 50 percent of the casualties are Iraqi
civilians."
The decline in casualties was said to have stemmed from both the number
of attacks and the failure of improvised explosive device strikes against
Iraqi and U.S. troops. Officials said that over the last few months, the
U.S. military has enhanced counter-measures against IED attacks.
Officials said the military could not yet determine whether the drop in
attacks marked a trend. But they said the U.S. and Iraqi militaries have
eliminated scores of Al Qaida-aligned insurgency cells in the Anbar province
believed responsible for the assembly of suicide car bombs around the
Baghdad area.