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US army deaths in Iraq hit 4,000 US military Iraq toll hits 4,000
(about 2 hours later)
The number of United States military personnel killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion five years ago has passed the 4,000 mark.The number of United States military personnel killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion five years ago has passed the 4,000 mark.
The latest to die were four soldiers whose patrol vehicle was blown up by a bomb in southern Baghdad on Sunday.The latest to die were four soldiers whose patrol vehicle was blown up by a bomb in southern Baghdad on Sunday.
The deaths bring the total to 4,000, according to the US military and independent monitoring groups.The deaths bring the total to 4,000, according to the US military and independent monitoring groups.
In other violence, Baghdad's Green Zone came under fire, and a suicide bomber killed 13 Iraqi soldiers in Mosul. Insurgent attacks and US military operations left at least 47 people dead across Iraq on Sunday.
In Baghdad, the heavily-fortified Green Zone suffered sustained mortar and rocket fire, which killed at least 15 civilians. Anticipating that the US death toll would rise to 4,000, a Pentagon spokesman earlier played down the significance of the figure.
The US military said it killed 12 militants preparing suicide attacks in a house east of Baquba. "It is artificial in the sense that somehow the 4,000th tragic loss somehow will be different from the first," Rear Admiral Greg Smith told Reuters news agency.
The bloodshed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June. According to an Associated Press breakdown of the figure, 97% of deaths occurred after US President George W Bush declared on 1 May 2003 that major combat was over.
Roadside bombs accounted for 44% of deaths last year and 55% to date in 2008, the agency adds.
In Sunday's other violence:
  • Mortar and rocket fire killed at least 15 people in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone
  • A suicide bomber ploughed an explosives-laden tanker into an army base in Mosul, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 40 people
  • US troops killed 12 men in a raid east of Baquba, saying that six of them were found to have shaved their bodies, suggesting they had been preparing for suicide operations
  • Gunmen travelling in three cars shot dead at least seven shoppers in a Baghdad market.
    • 'Less visible'
    Sunday's bloodshed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June.
    That was when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops in violence-hit areas - the so-called "troop surge".That was when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops in violence-hit areas - the so-called "troop surge".
    But Sunday's violence underlines the fragile, reversible nature of the apparent improvements in security, say correspondents. Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow for defence policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said he doubted the 4,000 milestone would "have the impact that the 3,000 did" in December 2006.
    Huge blast "The conventional wisdom then was that things were going badly," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
    At least 40 people were injured in Sunday's early-morning suicide strike in Mosul. "Today, by contrast, the public's general perception of Iraq is less negative, and coverage for the last six months has tended to focus on the reduction in violence and US casualties.
    Sunday's attacks on the Green Zone left a pall over the city "The war has also been much less visible."
    The suicide attacker ploughed an explosives-laden tanker into the army base, causing a massive blast. US soldiers interviewed by AFP news agency in Iraq said they were saddened by the figure of 4,000 but argued the conflict was justified.
    Iraqi and US soldiers have been engaged in a major offensive in Mosul, which US commanders say is al-Qaeda's last urban stronghold in Iraq. "Every one of those people signed up voluntarily and it's a shame that that happens, but tragedies do happen in war," said senior Airman Preston Reeves, 26.
    In another deadly attack, at least seven shoppers in a Baghdad market were killed when gunmen travelling in three cars opened fire. Staff Sergeant Jonathan Criss, 37, said the US could not "just walk away and leave the Iraqi people".
    Our correspondent says previous rocket attacks on the Green Zone have been blamed on rogue elements of Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, which is supposed to be observing a ceasefire. "If you interviewed the 30,000 [wounded], they would have no ill will," he added.
    Also on Sunday, the US military said it had killed 12 men in a raid east of Baquba city, in Diyala province.
    Spokesman Major Winfield Danielson claimed six of the men killed were found to have shaved their bodies, which he said was "consistent with final preparation for suicide operations".
    He added that a cache of weapons and ammunition had also been found in the raid and destroyed.